


Always

by valeforwings



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M, Written before Eternal Summer, ffnet repost, main focus is on SeiMako all other pairings are minimal, ratings vary
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-07
Updated: 2014-07-15
Packaged: 2018-02-03 19:18:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 31
Words: 76,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1755013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/valeforwings/pseuds/valeforwings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With Seijuurou entering his first year of university and Makoto in his final year of high school, the couple experiences both the wonderful moments together, and also the bad that almost breaks them apart.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Months before the end of their respective school years, Seijuurou Mikoshiba, captain of the Samezuka swim team, asked Makoto Tachibana, captain of the Iwatobi swim team, on a date before joint practice one afternoon.

Seijuurou had practiced countless times in front of the mirror in his dorm beforehand, signature grin on his face and fixing his hair, variations of 'will you go out with me' being spoken, figuring out what the best option was and trying to decide which would have the best results (that wouldn't end in a painful 'no' from the other swimmer).

  
 _"Makoto, hey, you, me, date? This weekend?"_

  
_"Do you want to grab something to eat after practice? My treat!"_

  
_"Mind spending some time with me, captain to captain?"_

  
_"I really like you, please go out with me!"_

  
"Oi, Tachibana!" he called, seeing the tall brunette emerge from the locker rooms with the rest of the Iwatobi team, ready to get in the water. "Come here for a sec?"

  
Makoto looked up, a smile on his face as he walked towards the redhead, towel draped across his shoulders. "What's up, Mikoshiba? Need anything?"

  
Seijuurou inhaled, closing his eyes and exhaling, opening his eyes again.

"How...does a movie sound this weekend, just the two of us?" He had finally asked, absentmindedly playing with the stopwatch around his neck, keeping golden eyes fixed on widening green, trying to keep his composure. _He's going to say no, isn't he...?_ "Seven?"

  
Makoto was too surprised to even answer, cheeks slowly (but surely) turning more pink.

  
"He says yes!" Haruka had shouted from across the room, rolling his eyes when Makoto shouted back at him and just resumed his swimming with Nagisa and Rei.

  
"Seven it is, then." Makoto sighed, smiling slightly at the older. "I'll give you my number after we're done here?"

  
"Sounds perfect. It's a date."

  
Numbers were exchanged before Makoto had left and plans were made for the weekend, saturday at seven. And on the day of, hours before he was supposed to meet Seijuurou, Makoto had begged Haruka to help him get ready.

  
"You got me into this mess, Haru! A... _date_? With _Mikoshiba_?" Makoto frowned, rummaging through his closet to find something to wear. "You have to help me! What if I wear the wrong thing, or say the wrong thing? What if he-"

  
"Oh please, you'd say yes anyway." Haruka threw a pair of pants at the panicking brunette, making him yelp. "I just sped up the process, and I'm sure that he won't care about what you wear or what you say."

  
"Haru!"

  
"It'll be fine, Makoto. It's just Mikoshiba." The oldest paused. "...you do like him, don't you?"

  
"I..."

  
"Makoto." Haruka's blue eyes narrowed.

  
Makoto sighed, hiding his face in the flannel shirt he was holding. "...and what if I do?"

* * *

  
They had just decided to meet each other at the theater to make it easier with no extra traveling to make the designated movie time without having to rush, and the younger captain was more than surprised to see the older already waiting for him by the ticket kiosk, a wide smile spreading on his face as he saw him.

  
"Hey, you made it!" Seijuurou beamed, waving.

  
 _He looks really nice today, I rarely see him in regular clothes and his smile really is nice..._ Makoto thought as he stopped beside Seijuurou, a smile blossoming on his face as well. _Wait..._

  
"Were you waiting long? I'm sorry, I was running a bit behind because I didn't know what to wea-" Makoto paused, fumbling to change his words. "-my siblings needed help with something so I had to deal with that, I'm sorry if I made you wait at all!" Seijuurou had just shook his head and let out a laugh.

  
"I got here maybe five minutes ago? No worries, Makoto. I already bought our tickets and everything."

  
"You really didn't have to-!" Frowning, Makoto pulled out his wallet to get a few bills to pay back Seijuurou, but the redhead just laughed and shook his head.

  
"You don't have to pay me back. It's fine, really."

  
"B-but-"

  
"It's the gentleman thing to do, Tachibana." Seijuurou winked as he opened the door, holding it open for the blushing Makoto. "You also look really nice today, even if it made you a bit late."

  
"Ah, I'm sorry, saying that I was almost late because of my clothes was embarrassing! But thank you." Makoto smiled, stepping inside with Seijuurou following behind. "You look really nice too, Mikoshiba."

  
"You can call me Seijuurou, Makoto." _Good god this kid is too cute_ , he thought, walking beside the brunette to the designated screening room after getting popcorn, to share, from the concessions counter.

  
"Ah, a-alright..."

  
During the movie, when both pairs of eyes were fixed on the large screen, both swimmers would occasionally reach for the popcorn at the same time.

  
"S-sorry!" Makoto blushed, pulling his hand away quickly as soon as his fingers brushed against Seijuurou's, eyes darting everywhere else but the swimmer beside him.

  
"It's alright, no big deal." Even though it was a big deal, because all he wanted was to hold the younger's hand ever since their date started. It would be so easy, so simple, too. Just a simple brush of the fingers made Seijuurou's heart flutter, but actually holding his hand? It would send him right over the moon.

  
They made casual hushed banter about what was going on in the film, like how the plot was overdone and they must've been desperate to find actors because the acting was awful, making each other laugh and enjoy themselves, also succeeding in breaking the nervous tension a bit. Sure they were friends and fellow captains, but in this environment, on a date, everything was different. Seijuurou had noticed that halfway through Makoto looked way more relaxed than before the date started, making him feel extremely relieved that the backstroke swimmer was having fun after all. And that maybe, just maybe, Makoto likes him, too. Also noticing that he hadn't stop smiling also was a big relief.

  
Seijuurou had also insisted that he walk Makoto home afterwards.

  
The trip back was filled with more small talk, mostly about school and how their teams were doing, and the redhead had gotten enough courage to brush his hand against Makoto's, finally taking it and lacing their fingers together. And when Makoto didn't pull his hand away, Seijuurou felt like his knees would buckle and he would fall onto the pavement right then and there.

  
"Ah, this is it..." Makoto had said, stopping outside of his home, staring up at golden eyes. "T-thank you for tonight...I had a lot of fun!"

  
"I'm glad." Seijuurou smiled. "Could we...do this again sometime, maybe?"

  
"...I'd like that." The older sighed in relief, feeling Makoto's thumb moving against the top of his hand. "It's getting late, I should probably get inside and you need to get back to your dorm because you mentioned curfew-"

  
"Just a sec..." Seijuurou closed his eyes, leaning over to gently press his lips against Makoto's. After a moment, the two pulled away, smiling. "I'll text you when I get back, safe and sound?"

  
Makoto nodded, smile not leaving his face as they said their farewells for the evening.

  
After that first date, there were more after that, on weekends and after joint practices. Whenever they had the time, they were inseperable. Seijuurou's crush had turn into full-blown adoration, and he finally knew that Makoto felt the same way after such a long time of thinking that his feelings might be unrequited. However, after Seijuurou had decided on a university to attend to in a mere amount of months after graduation, it meant that the two would be even farther away than Samezuka by almost four hours. Ever since that day, while Seijuurou would be counting down the days until he would have to pack his things and leave, and Makoto was counting down the days until Seijuurou would tell him that he wanted to focus on his studies, and that having this much of a distance between them would be way too difficult to manage for the two of them, especially with Makoto entering his final year of high school.

  
And he was worried, because he didn't want this relationship, their relationship, to end because of it, when everything was going so well and better than he or anyone else had expected. He didn't want the dates to stop. He didn't want the good morning and good night texts to stop. He didn't want the 'I love you's to turn into distant memories just like everything else would eventually become.  He was too afraid to mention it to Haruka, because he knew what his response would be, so one evening he searched online if distanced relationships worked out and got mixed results of 'it's completely fine' to 'don't even try because it won't work out', making the brunette feel even more lost and unsure.

  
And after that, he went to Rin.

  
 _"Mikoshiba's an idiot, but he's crazy about you, Makoto_." Rin yawned, only slightly irritated that Makoto had called and woken him up. " _You're worrying about nothing, now hang the hell up and let me go back to sleep."_

  
Makoto sighed. Maybe he was worrying about nothing? Seijuurou was...wonderful and even with having his hands full with college before it even started, the redhead still made time to be with him. The oldest never even brought it up or even mention anything related to breaking up in the slightest, but even so, it didn't stop Makoto from thinking about it.

  
"Is everything alright?" Seijuurou asked, running his fingers through soft brown locks. The two had just finished getting ready for bed, in Makoto's room since the oldest was spending the night after their outing to get Seijuurou more things for his new dorm. "You've been seeming...a bit off, lately. Are you getting sick? You look really worn out."

  
"No, I'm fine. I just..." Makoto hesitated, biting his lip, and then sighed. "...you're leaving next week."

  
"Yeah, and...?"

  
"If..." The brunette took a deep breath, closing his eyes and swallowing, feeling as if he was being choked. "If...you're going to break up with me because it's going to be too hard, then-"

  
"Woah, woah, _woah!_ " Seijuurou looked down at the brunette, frowning, heart beating a million miles a second against his chest, and he was pretty sure Makoto could feel it. "What are you talking about? Breaking up with you, what? _Makoto_!"

  
"What do you mean, what am I talking about?" Green eyes avoided meeting golden, feeling guilty. "It's just...you're going to be farther away than before, and we'll both be busy a lot and may not to see each other as much as we'd like, so..."

  
"Makoto Tachibana." Seijuurou smiled, wrapping his arms around the younger boy, letting out a deep breath. "It's going to be rough because there's going to be a lot going on, but I never plan on letting you go anytime soon, okay? I'd have to be pretty damn stupid to break up with you."

  
"But-"

  
"No buts, alright?" Seijuurou pushed Makoto's bangs back, resting their foreheads together. "We'll work something out. We could take turns coming to see each other every week or every other week, or whenever we can. That sound alright?"

  
The younger swimmer was silent, biting his lip.

  
"Makoto..." Seijuurou's voice was low, the redhead nuzzling his nose against Makoto's. "It'll work out, trust me. You can call and text me as much as you want, and I'll have my computer with me always incase you want to see my pretty face. And then before you know it, I'll be on a train here or you'll be on your way to see me, and we'll be okay. Yeah?"

  
Makoto laughed, tangling his hands into Seijuurou's tanktop. "...yeah. Yeah, it will."

  
"Why, do you want to break up?" Seijuurou raised an eyebrow. "Is there something you're not telling me...?"

  
"N-no!"

  
"Well, neither do I so it's okay." He tilted Makoto's head up, pressing their lips together. "You're still coming with me to help me move in to my dorm, right?"

  
"Of course I am." Seijuurou pulled Makoto back to his chest, arms cradling the younger captain. "You need all the help you can get because you have so much stuff."

  
"Good." He kissed the brunette's head, closing his eyes. "And Mako?"

  
"Yes?"

  
"We're going to be okay, way, way better than okay. I love you. Always."

  
"I love you too, Seijuurou."


	2. How The Narwhal Fell For The Orca

"Oi, captain! You've been staring off into space with that dumb smile on your face for the last five minutes!" Rin huffed, arms crossed and glaring at the older redhead. "Seriously, what's up with you? You've been doing this a lot lately."

Rin strode on over to stand at Seijuurou's side, squinting his eyes to where it seemed like his captain was staring...at the Iwatobi team?

"Yeah, I get it, megane still can't swim and it's fun to watch, but we have shit to do!"

"Not that." Rin raised an eyebrow.

"...I swear, if you're looking at my sister again-!"

Seijuurou just shook his head, sliding his jacket off and adjusting his goggles. "Ah, it's nothing. Come on, you're right, we have goals to accomplish, times to break!"

Golden eyes darted to the side to sneak one last view of a smiling Makoto pulling Haruka out of the water, before looking back at the younger redhead, who was getting ready to dive into the water.

"Hey Matsuoka...do you know if Tachibana is seeing anyone, by any chance?"

"What-" Rin looked over his shoulder, losing his footing and falling right into the pool. He resurfaced, both his team and Iwatobi staring at him, sputtering and looking at Seijuurou with wide goggle-covered eyes. "...you CAN'T be serious! Hey!"

The redhead really didn't know why or how this happened. The more he saw the brunette at their joint practices, the more he started to notice the little things about the backstroke swimmer. Like how Makoto would crinkle his nose when he adjusted his goggles. The complete focus on his face when he would get in position to start his laps. How truly nice he was to basically everyone. How his laughter was like a chorus of a thousand beautiful angels that would plague his mind for hours on end. How he just wanted to run his fingers through that soft-looking brown hair and stare into those dazzling green eyes. How his arms looked when he toweled his hair dry and how his back arched, and how his choice in swimsuit really complimented his figure...

At first Seijuurou just shrugged it off, thinking nothing of it. Makoto was Rin's friend, and also a fellow swimming captain. But  with every passing practice, the more the front crawler swimmer thought about the backstroker.

And when he finally thought about how soft Makoto's lips look, that's when Seijuurou Mikoshiba realized he was utterly screwed and had completely fallen head over heels for Makoto Tachibana.

* * *

 

Seijuurou knew that he was standing too close to Makoto as the two captains watched their respective teams in the water. Their shoulders were centimerers away from touching, and the slightest movement would make their skin touch.

The silence was painfully awkward aside from calling out at their teammates every so often, but the redhead couldn't help but glance over occasionally, heart melting at the sight of how Makoto would look completely serious and in an instant would smile at his friends.

"They're getting better, it's really shows when you compare their times over the last few months like Kou showed me." Seijuurou finally spoke, clearing his throat. "Especially the blue-haired one."

"Rei? Yeah, definitely." Makoto smiled, crossing his arms and exhaling, a smile on his face. "He's come a long way from when Nagisa made him join."

"She told me that he floundered like a fish the first few times he was in the water."

"He did, but _beautifully_ ," the brunette tried his best to sound like the butterfly swimmer, but failed in a fit of giggles, making Seijuurou laugh as well. "Ah, I'm sorry, that isn't a very nice to do, is it?"

 _You're adorable as hell_ , Seijuurou had wanted to say. "I think it's fine, all in good fun. Hey, you thirsty?"

Makoto nodded, and Seijuurou had leaned over to grab two water bottles from the nearby bench.

"Thank you." Makoto reached out, taking the cold bottle from the older captain, who flushed slightly when the youngest's fingers had brushed against his slightly.

_Dammit, he's so cute..._

"Oi! Lovebirds! Get in the water already, you can talk later!"

Seijuurou spit out the water that was in his mouth, sputtering at what the loud blonde had shouted. Makoto looked equally as shocked, but took the time to swallow what was in his mouth, coughing once he had swallowed.

"N-Nagisa!"

* * *

 

"So you're really going to do it?" Rin asked, watching as Seijuurou ran his fingers through bright red locks, styling it to his liking. "You're just going to ask him, right then and there? In front of everyone? That's it?"

"Yeah, pretty much. Nothing to it." Seijuurou hummed, blowing a strand of hair out of his face. "Why?"

"You're just going to embarrass yourself, captain. You haven't dealt with how dense Makoto really is when it comes to stuff like this, you have no idea at _all_."

Seijuurou turned his head, staring at the younger redhead who was leaning against his desk. He raised an eyebrow, frowned, and promptly scoffed, feeling a bit annoyed.

"And?"

"What do you mean _, and_?" Rin sputtered.

"What if Tachibana says yes? I don't know if he'll say yes or no, but I'm hopeful that he's going to say yes."

"...If he says yes, I'll do the team's laundry for two weeks. And if he says no, you have to do it. Fair is fair."

Golden eyes glistened, and Seijuurou extended his arm out, a grin spreading on his face. "Make it a month, and you got yourself a deal, Matsuoka."

* * *

 

_I'm in my dorm room, all in one piece! ;)_

Makoto smiled, settling himself in his bed, phone in hand after changing into pajamas and grabbing his english textbook to study a bit before turning in for the night.

_That's good to hear!_

A few moments passed before Seijuurou responded.

_Hey, so...about tonight..._

_What about it?_

_Well...I had a really good time and I really, really do like you..._

The brunette flushed and set down his textbook at his bedside table, biting his lip and before he could respond, Seijuurou sent another text.

_I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that, should I? Too soon? Gah, I always mess things up..._

Makoto hesitated, thumb hovering over the green call button. Should he call? Would he even answer? With a deep breath, he pushed it, putting the end up to his ear and waited, closing his eyes and trying to breathe slowly to calm himself down. _One ring...two..._

 _"...Makoto?"_ Seijuurou sounded slightly panicked when he answered. " _Why-"_

"I like you too, Seijuurou." Makoto smiled when he heard Seijuurou sigh in relief. "I'm glad I went out with you tonight because I had a lot of fun and just...I like you a lot and you're going to think I'm weird because I've been thinking about you a lot-"

 _"R-really?"_ Makoto heard Seijuurou's breath hitch. " _Makoto, I would never think that you're weird. To be honest, I thought I was being creepy with how much I've been thinking about you."_

"Really, Seijuurou." The brunette ran his hand through his hair, smiling. "Ever since Haru-chan pointed out that he caught you staring at me during practice, and asking Rin about it..."

 _"You have...no idea, hell, I don't even know how I'm feeling right now other than pretty damn happy and wanting to pound on Matsuoka's door and give him the biggest hug."_ Seijuurou started, leaning back in his desk chair and staring up at the ceiling. " _So do you...do you want to go out again after next week's practice_? _Maybe you can stay over and we can watch movies and get snacks and things, are you free? It'll be no hassle at all getting the visitor's pass verified."_

"That sounds great, I'm not doing anything so it all works out just fine." Makoto paused, biting his lip. "...hey, Seijuurou?"

_"Yeah?"_

"Are we...a thing, now?"

Seijuurou paused, but Makoto could tell that the redhead had the biggest grin on his face. _"Do...you want to be a thing? A couple, I mean?"_

Makoto nodded, adjusting the grip on his phone and twirling the string of his pajama pants around his finger.. "...y-yeah."

 _"Well then_ ," Makoto heard Seijuurou shift again, and the rustle of sheets and a deep chuckle. _"Makoto Tachibana, will you officially be my boyfriend and go out with me again next weekend?"_

"Of course, Seijuurou Mikoshiba. Of course I'll be your boyfriend." Makoto turned on his side, his phone resting between his face and the pillow, heart beating furiously against his chest, smile so big that it was starting to ache. "Oh, and...your hands are really soft, by the way. And...you're a pretty good kisser, too..."

Seijuurou laughed. " _Why thank you. But it's late, shouldn't you be sleeping?"_

 _"_ Shouldn't you? Besides, I want to talk a bit more, if that's alright and all..."

_"I'm all ears, dollface...er, I should work on those nicknames, shouldn't I?"_

"Yeah, I'd say so, Sei."

* * *

 

"You ready to go?" Seijuurou smiled, adjusting the strap of his gym bag on his shoulder, leaning against the wall next to the locker room.

"Yep! All set." Makoto closed the door behind him, flushing when Seijuurou linked his index finger with his. "I'm pretty excited, is that place really as good as you said?"

"Mako, they have the _best_ chocolate ice cream I've ever had. As soon as you said that your favorite thing was chocolate, that was the first place I thought of. You'll _love_ it!" The older captain led Makoto out of the swimming facility, and stopped at the glass doors.

"Sei? Is everything okay?"

The redhead smiled, moving his free hand to tilt Makoto's chin up slightly, staring into brilliant green before bringing their lips together. Makoto's hands rested on Seijuurou's hips, eyes fluttering closed as the older captain deepened the kiss and letting out a disappointed whine when Seijuurou pulled away and resting their foreheads together.

"Everything's just perfect, and I'm really happy." He beamed, thumb rubbing against the brunette's warm, reddening cheek. "Come on, we can drop our things off at my dorm really fast and get going before it gets any later and it'd be a pain to lug our gym bags around town when I'd very much like to have my hands free to hold yours."

Makoto smiled and nodded, lacing their fingers together and squeezing the larger hand as they walked down the pathway towards the Samezuka dorms.

"Aren't they cute, Haru-chan, Rei-chan, Rin-chan?" Nagisa sighed happily, hanging off of Rei's arm. "So _cute,_ Mako-chan is so lucky...!"

The three other swimmer rolled their eyes, saying their goodbyes to Rin as they made their way to the train station. They had to cut the after-practice talk short, because Rin had some laundry to do.

And there sure was a _lot_ of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So how this is run, is that there's little tidbits and things in between the main chapters of the story! Pretty much filler (which is why it's so long), but it was all fun to write! :) (so if it has a title, it's a side-chapter!)


	3. Chapter 3

_On my way, you awake?_

_Of course I am, Mako!_

_...you've been up for most of the night, haven't you?_

Early in the morning, Makoto met Seijuurou at his home to help his college-bound boyfriend move his things into his new dorm just like the brunette said he would, with a surprise gift in hand. He greeted Makoto at the door with his usual big hug and gentle kiss, letting the brunette inside and they went into the kitchen.

"You nervous?" Makoto took the mug handed to him, blowing off the steam coming from the freshly-brewed tea and taking a sip, green eyes focusing on amber. "It's okay if you are. I would be."

"Ah...a little..."

Seijuurou had already packed everything that he needed the night before (a reason being that he couldn't get to sleep for quite some time) judging by the several suitcases resting in by the front door when the brunette had arrived. However, the redhead raised an eyebrow when he saw the large bag in Makoto's hand. And before he could ask about it, Makoto answered his thoughts.

"It's a _secret_. I did tell your mom though, I'm surprised she didn't tell you." Makoto winked and gave Seijuurou a soft smile. "Come on, your parents are waiting for us to get all of this in the car so that they can drop us off. You'll get to see it later."

Makoto grabbed his share of suitcases and Seijuurou got his and followed him out the door to put them in the back of the car. Like Makoto said, his parents were waiting outside, talking amongst themselves and both adults smiled upon seeing their son and his boyfriend walk towards them, struggling with the luggage by the time they reached the vehicle. Once everything and everyone was inside, they embarked on the road to Seijuurou's university.

Luckily for Makoto, he had met Seijuurou's parents multiple times so conversation came easy. That, and his parents adored him. He didn't mind answering their questions, like how was his parents and siblings, and if he was excited to be done with high school soon, and if he had anything planned specifically for the swim team. And of course, they told embarrassing stories about Seijuurou when he was little, specifically when he cried for hours when he was little because swim practice was cancelled, making him flush and sink back in his seat.

"Is that true, Sei?" Makoto smiled, turning his head to the right to stare at Seijuurou who was covering his face with his hands and groaning.

"...maybe."

And soon enough, hours flew by and they had arrived.

"Have a good time, boys." Mrs. Mikoshiba said, getting out of the car to give her son and Makoto a hug and smiling at the two young men after they took everything out of the car. "Take good care of Seijuurou, and I hope you get home safe tonight, Makoto!"

"I will." Makoto smiled, cheeks lightly turning pink when Seijuurou wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him close. "Thank you!"

* * *

 

"Alright, this is it..." Seijuurou glanced down at the paper in his hand with his room information on it. Folding it, he put it in his pocket and reached for the doorknob, turning it and stepping aside and smiling at Makoto. "You first, babe."

Leaning over and pecking Seijuurou's cheek, Makoto lifted the bags he was carrying off of the floor and walked inside, the redhead following behind and his eyes roamed around the room. Two twin beds, small kitchenette area, bathroom, desks, drawers...everything that a student would need to have during their stay for a year. And with how much he was paying aside from the scholarships, it was well worth the money, even if it was a double room.

"Looks like your roommate isn't here yet..." Makoto said, setting down the suitcases next to the bed closest to the window. "What does it say that his name is?"

Seijuurou unfolded the piece of paper again, glancing down and scanning until coming at his missing roommate's name. "...Aikawa Sanada, it seems."

Makoto nodded, putting his gift down at the foot of the bed and felt Seijuurou rest his hands on his hips, hunching over and putting his chin on the brunette's shoulder.

"Should we start unpacking and get you all settled in?" Makoto leaned into Seijuurou, staring at the pile of black suitcases.

"Mmmph...maybe." The oldest started placing light kisses on Makoto's shoulder and nosing the fabric away, a quiet groan escaping from Makoto's throat. "I'd rather just kiss you, since I've been wanting to for hours..."

"You do know that he could show up at any time, right?" Green eyes fell shut and he bit his lip as Seijuurou's thumbs slipped past the hem of his shirt and rubbed at his hipbones. "Sei...if we unpack your stuff, I'll give you your present..."

With a sigh, quick bite, and a yelp from Makoto, Seijuurou detached himself.

"Fine." Seijuurou frowned, earning a quick kiss from Makoto and dragged him down to the five suitcases, starting to unzip them open and handed his clothes to Makoto so he could put them away neatly in the empty dresser.

"These are my favorite, you know." Makoto chuckled, holding a pair of Seijuurou's underwear, olive green with a blue border and yellow stitching. "You say my ass looks nice all the time, but you in these _definitely_ takes the title away from me."

"I'll be dead before I admit that my ass looks better than yours, Mako." Seijuurou grinned and leaned to the side, eyes trailing down Makoto's backside and right down to the brunette's behind. "But I guess I could just wear pants a little less around you to show off..."

Green eyes rolled with a smirk as he continued to put the folded clothes into the dresser. There was a knock at the door and the couple looked to see a young man with his own bags standing in the doorway, a smile on his face. He was about Makoto's height, black hair, brown eyes, and he seemed...friendly, which was a good sign.

"Which one of you is...Mikoshiba, Seijuurou?" He asked, glancing down at the room assignment paper in his hand.

"That'd be me." Seijuurou got up from the floor and walked to where he was standing and outstretched his hand. "And that's Makoto, my boyfriend."

"Hi." Makoto waved, leaning against the dresser. "It's nice to meet you."

"Ah...boyfriend, eh?" Aikawa looked between the brunette and redhead, and gave a reassuring laugh at Seijurou's solid expression. "It's alright, I'm fine with it. No worries!" He walked inside, placing his bags on the spare bed, stretching his arms out. "Did you go around campus yet?"

"Not yet, Makoto suggested that I should unpack and get that out of the way before anything else." Seijuurou shrugged. "But I think we might go out soon and see what's around since we're almost done."

"Cool, cool...well, I'll be going and doing that now, so I'll be seeing you later tonight! It was nice meeting you, Makoto!" And with that, Aikawa left the room, closing the door behind him.

Seijuurou sat on his bed, glancing over at Makoto and he patted the empty space next to him. Makoto laughed, taking the hint that he should sit down, and as soon as he did the redhead snuck his arms around Makoto's waist and pulled him close.

"He seems really nice." Makoto said, placing his hands ontop of Seijuurou's, smiling. "You really lucked out."

"It's going to be weird having a roomate after so long, but I think I'll manage." Seijuurou tilted his head, a grin spreading on his face. "But we unpacked, present now? Please, please, please?"

Makoto kissed his boyfriend's cheek and he reached over, picking up the large giftbag from the end of the bed with ease and handed it to the redhead. Seijuurou eagerly reached in, discarding the multiple pieces of colored tissue paper and let them fall to the floor around his feet and eyes widened as he pulled out a fairly large plush orca first.

"...I love it!" Seijuurou pulled it to his chest and inhaled, surprised to notice that Makoto must've sprayed some of his cologne on it. "It...even smells like you..."

"There's more, you know." Makoto gingerly wrangled the orca out of the swimmers arms, watching as Seijuurou reached into the bag again, pulling out a simple black-framed picture of the two during a joint practice, Makoto's wet hair pushed back to resemble his own and the biggest, most genuine smiles on their faces with their hands joined in the middle.

"Mako..." His voice was hushed, touching the glass with his fingertip and he felt Makoto's hand squeeze his thigh. "This is amazing, how did you-"

"Nagisa." The brunette laughed. "Since he was the one that took the picture, but owing him a favor is definitely worth seeing you smile like how you are now."

Setting that aside on his pillow, he pulled out a jar and multiple bags of chocolate peppermint patties, which made Seijuurou look over at Makoto with a grin on his face and the younger just smiled and shrugged.

"I'm just replenishing your stash so I can eat all of them again." Makoto reached his arm over, plucking one out of the open glass jar and put it in his mouth, smiling as he chewed and swallowed. Seijuuou leaned over, placing his lips onto Makoto's, tasting the strong taste of peppermint followed by the undertones of chocolate. Makoto eagerly kissed back, letting out a content sigh as he felt the redhead's tongue swipe at his bottom lip.

"You know I don't care if you eat them," Seijuurou said as he pulled away, golden eyes staring at a very flushed Makoto, holding the orca close to him.

"There's...one more thing." Makoto rested his head on the soft material, smiling. "I don't know why you keep stopping."

"Because I love everything since my boyfriend happens to be very amazing at giving gifts." Seijuurou stuck his tongue out teasingly. "You spoil me." His attention went back to the bag, pulling out the final white and orange item, which Seijuuou recognized as one of Makoto's favorite shirts.

"I don't know if it'll fit, but..." Makoto's cheeks slowly turned darker. "It's a big on me even, so it _could_ fit on you, if you choose to wear it."

"I'll wear it, but then I'd be afraid that it wouldn't smell like you anymore." Seijuurou pouted, but then put his hands on Makoto's over the plush animal, giving the brunette a reassuring smile. "But that's why I'm glad I have this lil' guy now to help me get through the night."

Makoto rested his head on Seijuurou's shoulder, lacing his fingers with the redheads and smiling into the thin material of Seijuurou's shirt. "Then remind me next week to sneak you some of my cologne, okay?"

"Awh Mako, now I feel bad that you gave me so many amazing and thoughtful things and I didn't even think of anything..." Seijuurou paused, glancing towards his dresser. "Just a minute, I think I know what you'll like..." He kissed the top of Makoto's head, hands moving to shift the brunette so he was laying on the bed as he got up, opening the drawer that he thought contained what he was looking for.

"You better not be messing up my neat work." Makoto joked, making himsef comfortable. "Everything is all sorted and perfect so you won't have any troubles finding anything until your first load of laundry."

"I'm not, don't worry...ah, there it is..." His hands grasped a gray shirt, pulling it out smiling, turning around and sitting on the edge of the bed, holding it out for Makoto. "Here. I can always just order some more, and I was planning to already, but...I want you to have my first one."

Green eyes glistened and Makoto set the plush aside, taking the shirt from Seijuurou and held it in front of him, the blue words " _Kyoto swim team_ " pressed into the fabric. He smiled, trying to ignore the growing lump in his throat, eyes focused on the words until his vision became blurry.

"...You'll sneak me some of your cologne too, right? So if I wear it, it can still smell like you?" Makoto finally spoke, voice wavering a bit and he bit his lip, trying to smile but failed, quite miserably. The youngest looked downward at the shirt clutched in his hands, trembling, attempting to not let any sobs building up in his chest escape his lips. "R-right?"

"Makoto..." Seijuurou instantly wrapped his arms around the shaking brunette, hands rubbing his back and whispering sweet nothings into his ear, heart dropping when he felt tears fall against and soak into his shirt and the whimpers getting all the more audible. "Mako, hey...it's going to be okay...I promise..."

The couple sat there, Seijuurou continuing to comfort Makoto and trying to get him to calm him down. After a few moments, the trembling slowed and the brunette became quiet, and the redhead tilted Makoto's head up, frowning at meeting his eyes with red-green watery orbs.

"Hey..." he whispered, closing his eyes and pressing their foreheads together. "I love you. I love you, so much, Makoto..."

"I know..." Makoto hiccuped, squeezing his eyes shut. "I-I know..."

"You want to go around campus and do some sight-seeing before your have to leave tonight? We can scope out some date spots while we're at it..."

"...yeah, the fresh air would be nice. Just let me wash my face off real quick, okay?"

Seijuurou kissed the top of Makoto's head, letting the brunette get up from the bed and grabbing the orca plush once again to rest it in his lap. "Take as much time as you like."

* * *

 

With fingers laced together and a smile back on Makoto's face, the pair went out to explore the area.

When Seijuurou had first looked up the area when he got accepted, he didn't pay much attention to what was around. Aside from picking out a landmark here and there so he wouldn't get lost, but as for places to eat and the such, he forgot his mental note to look into it. But with Makoto at his side, it was much more pleasurable even if they were to get lost.

They had successfully found the train station (which thankfully was only five minutes away, walking distance), and with the aid of the help desk in the main building, there was plenty of information on nearby restaurants and shopping areas.

"We can go wherever you want when you come back," Seijuurou said, sitting with Makoto at a table in the commons, marking down the areas on the map he had picked up. "There's way more stuff around than I thought..." Makoto just smiled, leaning his head on Seijuurou's shoulder and rubbing his thumb across the top of his hand. "You don't have to decide now, since next weekend I'll be coming to see you." Seijuurou pecked Makoto on the cheek. "I think we have time to get something to eat before you have to catch the train so you don't have to worry about rushing to get something for dinner and won't be starving by the time you get home. That sound good?"

"Then should we just go back to your room really quick so I can get my bag?"

Seijuurou folded up the map, standing up and wrapping his arm around the brunette's waist.

"Do that, and I might just hide you under my bed so you won't have to leave. I'm sure Aikawa won't mind."

"You have _no_ idea how tempting that sounds."

* * *

 

"Call me when you get home, okay?"

Seijuurou brushed Makoto's hair out of his face, the two pressed together saying their goodbyes before the younger's train arrived. The redhead frowned when he saw Makoto's sad expression return, so with habit, he pressed their lips together, and was relieved when he felt Makoto smile against his skin.

"I will." Makoto sighed when the sound of the train coming into the station was overbearing, and he adjusted the strap of his bag on his shoulder and looking over at his way home. "Well...I should get going..."

"Makoto."

The brunette looked upward, and Seijuurou kissed him again.

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

The oldest moved his hands to rest in his pockets, watching as his boyfriend stepped inside with dozens of other people, disappearing from his sight. As the doors shut and it started to move, his heart started to ache and he stood there until the train was long gone, and the redhead began to make the short trip back to his dorm, alone.

Aikawa was back when he returned, stepping into the shower by the time Seijuurou had sat on his bed, and golden eyes fell to the gifts from the backstroke swimmer. Most importantly, the orca. He reached for it, pressing his face into the felt, inhaling Makoto's scent and exhaled with a saddened sigh. Seijuurou paused, getting his phone from his pocket and unlocking the screen, pointing the backside towards him and snapped a picture of him and his plush present, sending it to Makoto with a short, but simple message.

_It's kind of like you're still here._

He smiled, putting the phone on his pillow and he stood, taking the jar of chocolate mints and the picture frame to put them on his desk, along with setting Makoto's shirt in his pajama drawer. It didn't take long for Seijuurou's phone to chime, and the redhead dived on his bed to check the message, smiling when he read Makoto's reply with a similar message and photo attached.

There was Makoto, green eyes bright as he looked into the camera, holding a plush similar to the orca on Seijuurou's bed, but instead it was light blue with darker spots and a small, yellow horn poking out from between the brunette's arms. He must've taken the picture that morning, due to the brunette's bedhead and disheveled clothes.

_That's why I bought this when I got your presents, so I wouldn't be lonely either._

 


	4. Peppermint and Chocolate

Seijuurou Mikoshiba was the type of young man who wanted to be prepared for anything.

Specifically, for the well-being of who he was dating.

Even more specifically, to make sure that his breath was always fresh and kiss-ready.

He feared that he would make whomever he was dating would eventually recoil in disgust after a kiss, the other claiming that his breath smelled awful, which made the redhead over prepare himself to have fresh breath at all times. Mints, gum, and making sure to always use mouthwash and brush his teeth in the morning and evening. Even when he wasn't dating anyone, he still carried a box of mints around because _'anything can happen_ ', and now that he was dating Makoto he didn't want to hear " _Sei your breath smells awful_ " ever slip past his lips. His beautiful, pink, soft lips that were absolutely irresistible to the redhead.

They had only been dating for a few weeks by then, and he hadn't heard Makoto complain about it before, aside from the opposite when Seijuurou had gotten up early to brush his teeth really quick to avoid morning breath kisses, coming back to bed to a half-awake and frowning Iwatobi swim team captain. Which was easily remidied by fresh non-disgusting kisses, and that was the end of Makoto's small complaints for the morning.

However, while he was out getting a few drinks for the swim club at the local convenience store, his eyes fell upon the candy section, and Makoto's words rang in his head.

_"Chocolate is probably one of my favorite things."_

And then a switch went off in the captain's head and he found himself taking the entire box of peppermint patties, along with the promised drinks.

Once handing off the cans to a few second years, he went back to his room, shutting the door behind him and placed the box on his desk. Seijuurou picked up one of the small chocolate mints, taking it out of the foil and put it in his mouth, taking a moment to chew, and grinned.

"Seijuurou Mikoshiba, you're a _genius_."

* * *

 

It was after swim practice, and Seijuurou was more than happy. Estatic, even. He ate two peppermint patties quickly once he was done changing, turning around and smiling once he saw Makoto already waiting for him by the locker room door.

And it was the perfect opportunity to try out if these peppermint patties could work their magic.

Smiling at the younger captain who was putting his phone in his pocket, Seijuurou walked over, bag slung against his chest and leaned against the wall next to Makoto.

"Took you long enough, you all ready to go-" Makoto was cut off by the oldest forcefully pressing his lips against his, closing his eyes and dropping his bag to the floor, hands going to Seijuurou's back to grasp at his jacket. "S-Sei..."

The redhead took the opportunity to let his tongue slip into Makoto's open mouth, finding the brunette's with ease and with every groan and gasp, it just made Seijuurou want to kiss Makoto again and again, deeper and deeper until he was begging and squirming between him and the wall.

But today wasn't the day for that, no matter how much he wanted to keep on making his boyfriend into a blushing mess. Or at least, not here in the locker room, because that can wait until the two returned to the older captain's dorm room later that evening. He pulled away, staring into hazy green eyes and Makoto's flushed face, a string of saliva hanging from his swollen lips.

"Did...did you eat chocolate?" Makoto panted, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. "I taste the mint, but...chocolate?"

Seijuurou shrugged, picking Makoto's bag up from the floor and putting it on his own shoulder.

"Maybe...maybe not."

"Seijuuuuuurou..." The brunette pouted. "Tell me, please?"

The redhead just smiled, taking Makoto's hand. "It's my own little secret."

After that, the redhead had multiple storage places for his peppermint patties. The main place being in his desk drawer in his dorm, about a dozen in all of his bags, and then the secret place in the back of Makoto's closet where he knew Makoto wouldn't find them in a small jar.

_Because he surely wouldn't find them there, right?_

* * *

 

Makoto stopped asking about why his boyfriend's mouth tasted like one of his favorite things yet still tasted like fresh mint, but in all honesty he could care less. For one, Seijuurou was an amazing kisser. Two, he did always like that he had fresh breath. Three, now that chocolate was involved somehow, and Seijuurou seemed to want to kiss him more, there was no room in his mind for complaints and questions.

"Alright, he's going to be here in a half hour, I think I can get things tidied up in time..." Makoto bit his lip, hands on his hips as he stared at his room.

The brunette got to work, making his bed, putting away his laundry, neatly stacking his textbooks by his backpack, and then putting anything else neatly away in his closet. While putting his spare shoes in by a box in his closet, he raised an eyebrow when he heard an unfamiliar 'clink'.

"What...?"

Makoto got on his knees, reaching inside and moving his hand around, trying to feel for the unknown object that made that sound. He surely didn't put it there, nor would Ren or Ran or his parents, or even Haruka, so the young captain was more than confused as to what it could possibly be. _Did I forget that I put something there...?_ Makoto thought, brows knit together as he continued his search. Finally his hand brushed against cold glass, and he grasped it. "Gotcha!"

And he was even more confused when he pulled out a jar, full of foil-wrapped peppermint patties.

Curious, he reached in, taking the foil off and took a bite. In seconds his eyes widened, and he stared down at the jar in front of him.

"Seijuurou Mikoshiba, that little sneak!" Makoto put the rest of the treat in his mouth, reaching in to eat another. And another. "I'll show him..."

Setting the jar in a new hiding place, in his drawer, Makoto threw away the discarded foil wrappings and made sure that there were no traces of chocolate on his lips or teeth. Soon enough, he heard a knock from downstairs, followed by his mother (and the twins) greeting Seijuurou.

_"It's good to see you again! Makoto's right upstairs, dear."_

Quickly, Makoto grabbed one of his textbooks and sat on his bed, flipping to a random page to pretend to be studying and looked up when he heard a knock on his door, and it creak open. Makoto looked up, smiling to see Seijuurou there with his overnight bag, closing the door behind him.

"Well hey there," Makoto said, closing the book and setting it on his bedside table. "Ren and Ran give you any trouble?"

"Let's just say I agreed to multiple piggybacks in the next few minutes." The redhead laughed, leaning over to place his lips on Makoto's, and yelped when the brunette had grabbed his shirt, pulling him close to deepen the kiss. Which made Seijuurou taste something awfully...familiar. "...Makoto?"

"Hmmm?" Makoto nuzzled his nose against Seijuurou's neck, feeling the redhead's rapid pulse and grinning. "What is it, Sei?"

"You...taste like chocolate."

"Yes, and...?"

"...Mint."

Makoto smiled against the warm skin. "Just like those peppermint patties you've been eating for the last week or so, huh?"

"Well, looks like my secret's out." Seijuurou sighed, leaning against the younger captain. "And I thought I was being clever..."

"You'll always be clever, hush." Makoto kissed Seijuuou's neck one more time before getting up from the bed, pulling Seijuurou up with him. "Come on, Ren and Ran are probably getting really antsy."

"Alright, alright..." The redhead sighed, opening the bedroom door to head back downstairs to where the twins were eagerly waiting for him.

"Sei?"

He stopped, turning his head back to look at Makoto. "Yeah?"

"I love you." Makoto tossed a mint to Seijuurou who caught it with ease, smiling.


	5. Chapter 5

Makoto sighed, staring down at his math notes and tapping his pencil against his textbook. Nothing was making sense to him, and both his and Haruka's notes weren't helping him understand either. He was at this for almost two hours now, luckily math being the last of the subjects to finish for the night, because he knew that it would take him the longest to complete.

 _At least in math you don't have to write essays_ , he thought, biting his lip and pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. _Otherwise, I would be completely screwed._

"No...no that's not it..." Makoto mumbled to himself, erasing what he just wrote down. "Then...maybe this will work if I switch these...no..."

_"You're really cute when you're frustrated, Mako. Of course, you're cute all the time, but..."_

Green eyes looked up at his computer screen, seeing Seijuurou smiling and twirling his own pencil in his fingers. The freshman had a term paper to write for his literature class, and asked if Makoto would be willing to keep him company while he wrote the outline for it. And while the brunette had his own work to do, skype was their godsend answer to that issue.

It was common that the couple would video chat when they were studying, especially during exam weeks or other important tests or assignments, so that either swimmer wouldn't end up tearing their hair out in frustration. Because the sight of Makoto to Seijuurou was the most calming thing, and hearing Seijuurou's voice to Makoto helped him focus. In their own ways, they helped each other, even through the silence accompanied by key clicks, pencils against paper, and small huffs and mumbles as the two did their work. It wasn't as good as actually being there with each other as they worked, but it was still something to get them through their work.

And of course, when phone calls and texts could only do so much when either young man was lonely, video chats were the simple solution to that as well.

"Math sucks." He sighed, trying to find the example problems in his book to finish the assignment so he could be done for the evening. "Well, it's okay. Calculus just sucks. And then anything above that."

_"Definitely, anything past algebra makes me just want to throw my books out the damn window because letters don't belong at all in an equation. I feel your pain, Mako."_

"It's not my fault that we have to learn something more complicated every year." Makoto pouted, finishing up a problem that he was sure he got wrong. "I was lucky I even got through last year with a passing grade because you sat me down and helped me study all night with the detailed notes from Rei."

 _"Just wait until college, then you can really complain about it. Because there's math, and then there's eeeeverything else."_ Seijuurou looked up from his typing, raising an eyebrow. _"I could always open up my college trig textbook and read a few pages to you, you know-"_

"Please don't." The young captain sighed, shoulders lowering. "My head hurts already just thinking about it because all of the letters and numbers, and Nagisa already has Rei on speedial for this sort of thing and I wouldn't want to be a bother because I know they're studying right now too..."

_"Do you want me to help? I'm almost done with my stuff so it's no big deal if I stay up any later to help you..."_

Makoto shrugged, frowning. "If you want to...I'm just ready to give up on it and be done."

_"Long day, huh? You seem really tired. And your texts today seemed that way, too."_

"What do you mean?" Makoto glanced down at his book, skimming through the pages that he didn't quite understand. "Everything seemed fine today, maybe you're tired."

" _Mako, I asked if you were at swim practice yet and you replied with..."_ Seijuurou fumbled with his phone, scrolling through his messages, furrowing his eyebrows. " _Something about cats and swimsuits. Together. Please don't tell me you teamed up with Nanase with trying to teach cats how to swim and make special kitty swimmers for them..."_

"Oh, that...kind of makes sense?"

 _"How does that make sense, exactly?"_ The redhead laughed. _"I don't think cats and swimsuits ever make sense together, or belong together for that matter..."_

"I was changing and I forgot if I fed the strays outside of Haru's today, guess it came out all jumbled together." Makoto rubbed the back of his head, feeling slightly embarassed. "Sorry...maybe I have been a bit scatterbrained..."

_"Forgetting about those cuties? You must really be tired."_

"Something like that, yeah." Truth be told, after school, an especially rough swim practice and then watching his overactive siblings, the brunette was starting to get exhausted.

_"I'm all ears, babe. Let it all out. Tell me what's on your mind."_

"Well, it's just..." Makoto ran his hands over his face, closing his eyes and sighing. "Did you ever feel this...pressured last year?"

_"Pressured? Be specific, love."_

"Like...with picking the right college and making sure all of your grades are perfect and to study as much as you can and then keeping up your duties as captain all while not slipping up once and then having enough time for family because there's just so much to do and not that much time to do it and-" Makoto rambled on, making Seijuurou sigh.

 _"Makoto, calm down, breathe."_ Makoto stopped and opened his eyes, looking at his monitor and saw Seijurou's frown _. "It was really stressful, and it probably doesn't help that you have to be a captain too ontop of all of your other responsibilities, and I know how panicked you get when you feel overworked and stressed, but you'll be fine. You need to make sure to have fun too, or else the rest of the year is going to be extremely miserable as well."_ He paused, running a hand through his hair and smiled. " _And besides, I know you'll get through it. You have me, and you have your friends so it won't be all that bad."_

"Ah, right..." Makoto took his glasses off, setting them down next to his computer, smiling slightly. "I'm sorry, there's just a lot I've been thinking about lately. Guess I can't help myself. I just feel like if I do the slightest thing wrong then everything else is going to go wrong, too."

 _"There's the Tachibana smile I like to see and fell in love with. And it's fine, Mako. You just need to stop yourself from fretting and overthinking things, okay? I know you can do it, and I know you won't mess up."_ Makoto nodded, raising his arms over his head to stretch, and Seijuurou finally noticed the shirt his boyfriend was wearing. _"So, does it still smell like your wonderful redhead, or do I need to replenish your cologne supply?"_

Makoto blinked and looked down at his shirt, laughing when he noticed. "It does, and I'm glad. My narwhal buddy still smells wonderful, too. How about mister orca and my shirt?"

 _"Absolutely perfect. I can't wait to get one of those yellow Iwatobi shirts from you, though...oh, that's right!"_ Seijuurou got up for a moment, coming back with a jacket in his hands. _"We got these in today, finally!"_ He put it on, the gray, black and blue track jacket hugging his figure perfectly as he showed it off to Makoto, smile wide on his face. " _What do you think? Too big, too small?"_

"I think it looks amazing! But to be honest it is weird not seeing you in your Samezuka jacket." He looked over to his calendar, and saw the circled upcoming date. "That's right, your first meet is coming up really soon!"

 _"You're still coming, right? Everyone's excited to see you again and I know with you there, it'll be amazing."_ Makoto nodded, making the redhead grin _. "Alright!"_

"Haru and the others might be coming too, but I wouldn't miss it for the world."

_"The more the merrier! Maybe if they want, they can go out afterwards with us to eat at the one place we've been wanting to try."_

The brunette smiled, watching as Seijuurou took of the jacket and put it back in its place in the closet and then sitting back down at his desk, tidying up his space so his arms could rest comfortably without being on his papers.

 _"So, hey...I was walking around campus today, looking at a few fliers for extra classes to fill my spare time slots during the day, and I saw a pretty interesting one..."_ Makoto swallowed, seeing the look in Seijuurou's eyes go from happy to lust-filled within seconds, and he was almost afraid to ask. Alas, his curiosity got the best of him.

"Oh? What was it?" The brunette grasped his water bottle from his side, taking the plastic cap off and putting the open lid to his lips.

_"You interested in pole dancing, Mako?"_

Makoto choked, struggling to swallow the water in his mouth as he heard Seijuurou shout _"Sorry, sorry, hey!"_ as he gasped for air, throat burning.

"What?!"

_"I walked by, saw it, and thought that it could be pretty fun and something for the two of us to do possibly? Doesn't hurt to get your credits started early! Plus, your legs are pretty strong and could be easy for you, I know that by two things, for sure."_

"...what two things, Sei?" Again, Makoto was afraid to ask questions.

_"One is your kickoff in the pool, and the second is the way your legs wrap around me when I fu-"_

"S-Sei! What if Aikawa is around?!" Makoto flushed, eyes scanning behind Seijuurou. "He's okay with us and all, but this is definitely pushing his boundaries, I think-!"

 _"He has an evening class right now."_ Makoto's face was slowly turning more red by the way Seijuurou was looking at him _. "So, no worries. We can talk about this for..."_ Seijuurou looked down at the clock on his monitor. _"About another half hour. Perfect amount of time to try and convince you..."_

Makoto covered his face with his hands, refusing to look at Seijuurou. "Seiiiiiiii..." He whined, face burning under his cold hands. "Can we not talk about this, though? It's embarassing..."

_"I'd kiss you right now, my adorable little captain. But the option is still there, I did take a flyer with me and put it in my desk drawer. I still think you'd be really good at it! I'd attempt it, but probably wouldn't be as good as you. I'd probably slide right off."_

The brunette just laughed, holding his head in his hands.

"Whatever you say, Seijuurou..."

 _"Now, come on, break open that textbook and your prince will help you with your math."_ Seijuurou winked. _"Can't have my captain fail a class and be suspended from club activities now, can we?"_

"Just like you that one time because you forgot you had a big project to turn in?" Makoto's mouth slowly formed a smile, shoulders shaking to contain his bubbling laughter. And by the look on the redhead's face, he was surprised that Makoto knew about that. "Rin told me. You're the 'perfect' captain, eh?"

 _"Remind me to put that kid in a headlock the next time I see him."_ Seijuurou laughed, which made Makoto laugh as well, the brunette still covering his face with his hands. _"It's not my fault! There was a lot going on!"_

"Right, right..." Makoto wiped the tears from his eyes. "A lot going on...yeah _, sure_..."

Seijuurou pouted, crossing his arms. _"Makooooo..."_

"Alright, I'm sorry. I love you." He opened his math textbook again, to the page where his assignment was. "Let's get this done already..."

_"Love you, too."_


	6. Cafes and Honesty

"Mikoshiba-senpai!"

Seijuurou looked up, smiling once he heard the familiar voice of no one other than Nitori with a decently happy-looking Rin beside him. The oldest got up from the booth at the cafe, greeting the two young swimmers with one-armed hugs.

"Oi, did you get taller, Ai?" Seijuurou asked, squinting and putting his hand on Nitori's head and bringing it to his chest. "It has been awhile since I've seen you last, I think you have!"

Nitori nodded, beaming. "I have! Just an inch or two, but at least it's something!"

"And it looks like you've put on more muscle! That's great, your times must definitely be improving!"

"It's all thanks to your advice, Mikoshiba-senpai." He smiled, sitting down next to Rin. "Maybe if I keep it up I could be as good as you and Rin!"

Rin just scoffed, crossing his arms and laughing. "Then you better train all day, every day, small stuff."

"I could do it! Even you said it yourself, a few days ago at practice, that my distance was getting better!"

The freshman grinned, sitting back down in his seat across from his former Samezuka teammates, noting that they haven't changed much at all. A waitress came by to take their orders (Seijuurou just having water and three pieces of carrot cake for the group, spiced tea for RIn, and then hot chocolate for Nitori), then leaving so the three could catch up. Once she came back with the full tray, it was when Rin was doing his best Seijuurou impression on club discipline, which made her chuckle as she finished setting their drinks and snacks down, leaving while muttering 'boys...' with a smile on her face.

Seijuurou took out his phone, taking a picture of the two swimmers chatting away about proper goggle straps and attached it to a message, sending it to Makoto.

_We need to get everyone together soon like this! It'd be fun! Also, this cake is AMAZING. I seriously want to get more and head straight to Iwatobi after this to give you some._

"You made a good choice in who would take over for you, senpai." Nitori smiled, sipping at his warm drink. "Right, Rin?"

The younger redhead shrugged and took a bite from his cake. "He's good, but I think he's too soft. Definitely not like you. He hasn't yelled directly at one of us even once."

"Aww, shucks, you two. I'm flattered." Seijuurou chuckled. "I'm just glad everything is going well and I haven't gotten any negative responses or issues come up. I figured one of you two or some of the other second years would be constantly sending me messages that something is wrong and that they wish I were still there."

"Is it weird not being a captain anymore?" Nitori asked. "It's like starting from the bottom again, isn't it?"

Seijuurou shrugged. "A bit weird, but manageable. But there's a few others on the team that were past captains too, so it's pretty neat."

"That would be so cool!"

His phone buzzed with Makoto's response, and the redhead was eager to see it. He laughed when he also sent a picture, himself with the twins sleeping on him, glasses askew, shrugging with a smile on his face.

_At least you're having more fun than this, and I think a get-together is a great idea! And don't you dare tempt me with cake when Kou-chan is threatening me already with taking away my sweets since she thinks I eat too much..._

Seijuurou's response was quick, given his perfect opportunity.

_She better not take you away from me, then! Because you're the sweetest thing I've ever tasted and can't get enough of!_

The conversations carried on, Seijuurou learning that both swimmers were keeping their grades up and Rin was looking into colleges, and wasn't sure if he was going to go for personal reasons, or just go to the one that was giving him the most money from scholarships. Apparently he told Makoto to do the same when they looked into a few campuses, but Makoto being Makoto, politely declined that idea. Haruka however, just shrugged and took it as a possibility.

"Your boyfriend is still damn awful at English, Mikoshiba." Rin wiped at his mouth with his napkin. "You better help him with that when he has that final exam to do, because I have my arms tied with helping this one and Haru."

"I'm trying, at least!" Nitori added.

Seijuurou only gave a small chuckle. "I know. I already promised I'd help when he mentioned it."

"Hey Rin, I'll be heading back to the dorms now. I said I'd meet up with a classmate to work on a project that's due soon." Nitori stood from the table, taking a few bills from his wallet and putting them down. "It was really nice seeing you again, senpai!"

Nodding, Seijuurou smiled at the young swimmer. "Feel free to call or text me any time so we can get together again, Ai. Get back safe!"

Rin and Seijuurou watched as Nitori left, door closing behind him. Seijuurou turned his head, gold meeting with intense red, and he raised an eyebrow.

"...yes? Something on your mind?"

Rin sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I don't know how to put this, but...Haru says thanks."

"Hmm?" Seijuurou took a drink from his glass of water. "For what?"

"For Makoto, stupid." The young swimmer huffed. "What else? The water? Mackerel? Something obvious like the fact you're dating his best friend even though he could do way better but instead decided to be with you?"

"I'm not...exactly understanding what you're getting at. Is there something wrong? Is Makoto okay?" Seijuurou frowned. "And hey, I think I'm more than acceptable dating material."

"You really don't-, look." Rin put his elbow on the table, propping his head up to stare at Seijuurou with an annoyed expression on his face. "He says thanks for still keeping Makoto happy for the last few months."

He blinked. "Nanase really said that?"

"He knew Makoto was really freaking out about the distance thing because 'he could tell by how he swam' or some shit." Rin rolled his eyes. "But after that died down and was settled, and Makoto pretty much went back to his old self, and apparently happier, he sends his best thanks for not ripping out his best friend's heart. Especially because he doesn't know the best way to cheer people up. Trust me. But yeah, thanks for that and all that shit."

Seijuurou laughed, stacking the empty cake plates on top of each other, licking some of the leftover frosting from his thumb. "Well then you can tell him thank you. It really makes me happy that I have his closest friends approval, you know? Sort of like meeting the parents. But hey, can't help it that everyone loves me."

"There's the cocky 'I am the greatest' attitude of yours." Rin let the corners of his mouth turn upward slightly. "But really. He went on and on how he's been noticing how happy he sounds when talking about you, and how he looks whenever you respond to his texts. But, I have to agree with him on one thing though..." Rin's expression dropped and eyes darkened. "...is that if you ever hurt him in any way, you'll have a very pissed off pair of swimmers to deal with."

"Matsuoka-" Seijuurou paused, setting his fork down. "You have my word, I would never hurt Makoto. And you can tell that to Haruka. I promise. I love him too much to do anything like that."

"That better be a promise you keep, Mikoshiba." Rin narrowed his eyes. "I'm not kidding around, and neither is Haru when we mean that if you ever hurt this kid, it'll be one of the worst things you ever do."

Seijuurou put his elbow on the table, outstretching his arm and taking Rin's hand. "Promise. I'm going to him in a few days, so you can be sure I'll..." The oldest smiled, taking his phone out and seeing Makoto as his screensaver and the new message from the brunette. "...take _good_ care of him."

"Oi! I know damn well what that look and tone means!" Rin huffed, getting up from the booth and grabbing his jacket. "You stop that right now! Hey!"

Seijuurou following the younger's actions, putting the exact amount of money to pay the bill on the table, and left the cafe, getting an earful from the annoyed swimmer about not wanting to know about his close friend and ex-captain's intimate love life.


	7. Chapter 7

Feeling strong, familiar arms tighten around his waist, Makoto shifted in bed with a soft groan.

"Good morning, gorgeous." Seijuurou said, voice still heavy with sleep, placing gentle kisses on Makoto's bare shoulder. "Sleep good?"

"Wonderful." His cheeks turned pink, recalling last night's activities. "You excited? Today's the big day."

"I'm nervous as hell." The redhead sighed. "But, you're here, so that makes all the difference. What time is it...?"

Makoto laughed, being careful to be quiet and not wake up Aikawa who was still peacefully sleeping only mere few feet away. He squinted his eyes at the clock on the wall, taking a moment for his vision to adjust.

"...a bit past eight. But we should get up soon, I have to meet the others at the station in almost two hours so that I can bring them to the center so that they can see you swim, too." He turned over, now facing Seijuurou, smiling back at the swimmer at his messy bedhead. "Ah, but I wouldn't mind staying here for a little while longer where it's nice and warm and comfortable until we _really_ have to get up and get ready."

"Sounds perfect to me." Seijuurou pulled Makoto closer, pressing their lips together. He closed his eyes, letting his thumbs make circles on the faint bruises on his boyfriend's hips from last night (making a mental apology to Makoto for possibly being too rough) and continued to kiss him, slowly becoming more eager with the soft, pleased sounds coming from Makoto's throat.

Moments passed and Seijuurou moving to rest on top of Makoto, lips still locked as the brunette linked his arms around Seijuurou's neck, gasping when Seijuurou moved his head down to add more red marks to Makoto's neck and chest.

"S-Sei..." Makoto gasped, tangling his fingers in red hair as his boyfriend continued trailing kisses along his outstretched neck and pressing their hips together. "Ah!"

"As much as I think you two are enjoying yourself..." Seijuurou lifted his head, eyes moving over to look at Aikawa who was sitting upright in bed, awkwardly scratching the nape of his neck. "I _am_ right here, after all."

"Ah, sorry!" Makoto apologized, hiding his burning red face with Seijuurou's pillow. " _Sorry, oh my god!"_

Seijuurou brought the comforter up more, covering himself and Makoto the best as he could. "Sorry, man...guess I got a bit carried away..."

The other freshman laughed, standing up and heading for the bathroom. "I'll take my shower first. That gives you some time for some...more privacy." The bathroom door clicked shut and Seijuurou sighed, glancing back down at Makoto who still had his face covered with the pillow.

"Mako." He said, placing his hands ontop of Makoto's, that were still digging in to the object. "Hey...he's not in the room anymore, and I want to see your cute face..."

With a sigh, Makoto lowered the pillow halfway, so that he could look at Seijuurou leaning over him. The redhead smiled, resting their foreheads together so that he could gaze into dark green, letting his fingers trace over Makoto's sides.

"You want some help?" He whispered, feeling his boyfriend's erection through the thin sheet between them.

Makoto only nodded, not moving the pillow, as Seijuurou moved his hand downward, slipping past the thin material and hearing the brunette's pleased sigh and watched as his beautiful green eyes drifted shut.

* * *

 

Thankfully, Makoto was right on time and showed up at the station minutes before the train had arrived.

"Lead the way, Mako-chan!"

Makoto smiled, seeing his Iwatobi friends accompanied by Rin and Nitori. Seijuurou's meet started in less than an hour, and with Makoto's phone buzzing every few minutes with a new message from the redhead, he knew that his boyfriend was getting more and more nervous as the competition grew closer.

The night before and before he left to the station, Seijuurou made sure to give Makoto the directions to the swim center, knowing that the brunette might forget due to his own excitement. He was already running a bit late due to the train schedule and staying in bed most of the morning, and he didn't want Makoto or their friends to miss his first competition. Even with his honesty, Makoto frowned and claimed that he didn't need to be told twice on where to go, but Seijuurou just laughed and kissed Makoto in apology.

"Just wait until you guys see the pool, it's amazing!" Makoto said, Haruka at his left side and Nagisa hanging from his right arm, leaving Rei, Gou, Rin and Nitori following close behind. They weren't all that far from their destination, it being a bit farther than the dorms. "Isn't it, Haru?"

"You've only showed me pictures." He huffed and crossed his arms. "Pictures aren't as good as seeing it for yourself."

"And remember our promise! That's the most important thing you need to remember for today."

Haruka sighed. "Right...no trying to sneak into the pool..."

_"And?"_

"...and trying to convince someone to let me swim in it because we'll get kicked out and Mikoshiba will get in trouble." He recited, earning a pat on the back from Makoto.

"That's our Mako-chan, always a few steps ahead of our hydrophile!" Nagisa cheered, and looked up once the group approached a large building. "Oh, look! Is this it, Mako-chan?"

The Iwatobi captain just laughed, reaching into his pocket to pull out their tickets that Seijuurou had gotten for them, handing them to the woman at the booth outside. The redhead made sure to get their seats near his team's section, obviously, and he had already told his captain of the seating arrangements, just in case.  Makoto smiled when he heard his friends gasp in awe of seeing the bustling center, just like seeing their first pool at their first competition the previous year.

"Sei gets to swim in this?" Rei pushed his glasses up, amazed by the size.

"It's huge!" Gou's eyes widened.

"Almost every day, yeah." Makoto smiled. "Big difference, huh?"

"Jealous, Haru?" Rin threw his arm around the mezmerized freestyler, a grin spreading on his face. "I bet you're just itching to dive right in."

"...shut up." Haruka scoffed, removing Rin's arm from his shoulder. "I...promised."

"Boys, boys...our seats are right over here." Makoto lead the group past the rows of seats, seeing the other sections roped off and specified for the other teams, finally reaching the reserved several seats as 'Kyoto guests'. Glancing down at his watch and the seeing more of the other athletes disappear into the locker rooms and a dozen come out to stand in front of their lanes, it was close for the first race to begin.

The benchwarmers and team supporters were happy to see Makoto, shaking hands and hugging the tall captain, saying that they were glad he was here and brought friends along to help cheer on Seijuurou and their team. They also said that Seijuurou's race would be the third heat.

"I've never seen someone so excited and nervous before." A member of the swim team said, leaning in to talk to Makoto due to the loud cheers coming from the spectators. "But if it's anything like he practices, it'll be a damn good race for sure."

Makoto took his seat on the border between their saved seats and Seijuurou's team, first row, next to Haruka. Green eyes scanned the area as time passed, also making sure Haruka didn't try to sneak away with Rin's help, looking for an all-too familiar redhead to emerge from somewhere, anywhere, as soon as the first heat began.

"Mikoshiba's going to do fine, Makoto." Haruka said, snapping Makoto out of his worry trance. "You know he will."

"Ah, right..." Makoto perked up when he saw Seijuurou walk out with the other competetors of his heat, getting ready to swim. The redhead glanced over at his teams section, eyes widening and a grin immediately spreading on his face as soon as he saw Makoto.

' _You'll do great_ ' He mouthed, winking at the swimmer down by the pool, earning a blown kiss in return as Seijuurou adjusted his goggles.

* * *

 

His race had ended moments ago, and Makoto knew that by the way his boyfriend got out of the pool, he was upset. Makoto, with permission from Seijuurou's team and excusing himself from his group of friends, he followed the redhead into the locker room. When he opened the door Seijuurou was already in the showers, and patiently waited until he was finished. Seijuurou was more than surprised when he saw his boyfriend sitting on a bench, and Makoto patted the empty space next to him with a small warm smile, and with a sigh he sat down next to the backstroke swimmer.

"Seijuurou Mikoshiba, stop sulking." Makoto whispered, tilting his head to try to look into golden eyes but dripping wet red hair blocked his view. "Hey, look at me...you did amazing, really. It was a close race, it'll be okay."

"I got second."

"That's still fantastic, though." The brunette smiled, taking the slightly larger hands in his and gave a reassuring squeeze. "You still did your best and your teammates think you did great, and everyone else thinks you were amazing _. I_ think you're amazing. Everyone who showed up thought you did amazing, too, and we all cheered our lungs out just for you."

"Makoto..." Seijuurou sighed, but stopped when he saw green eyes full of nothing but...love. Adoration. "...I just feel awful because I said I'd get first, for you and the team, after weeks of constantly saying it."

"Second is good, too. And it was only by like...two seconds." Makoto's finger traced over where Seijuurou nicked himself with his razor that morning, sliding down to rest at his shoulders. "You could have gotten last and I still would have been proud of you. And there's always next time, there's plenty of more races coming up. And I don't stop when I get second, or third, or any other placing, do I? It's perfectly fine."

The redhead scoffed. "Now that's just-" The younger captain just rolled his eyes and pressed his lips to Seijuurou's to stop him from speaking any more self-doubt.

"That's just what?" Seijuurou just smiled, shaking his wet hair towards Makoto making the brunette yelp and laugh, wiping the droplets from his face. "H-hey, no fair!"

"...Thanks, Makoto. You always say the right things when I'm feeling like this. You're completely right."

"Now come on, get changed because everyone wants to see you. And then after everything is done we can get something to eat, okay?" Makoto patted Seijuurou's damp back, running a finger up the redhead's spine. He watched his boyfriend get up with a groan, heading to his nearby locker to retrieve his sweatpants and team jacket and put them on with ease. Once he was dressed, Makoto stood up to drape a towel around Seijuurou's neck, pecking the swimmer's cheek. "Ready?"

Seijuurou laced his fingers with Makoto's, swinging his arm slightly.

"Ready."

Seijuurou's teammates were estatic when the two returned to their section, congratulating the redhead on his placing and also thanking Makoto for bringing the swimmer back to his senses. And of course, Makoto's friends were happy for the redhead as well, amazed that he did so well for the first race of the season.

All while keeping an eye on Haruka, who didn't take his gaze from the pool even once.

* * *

 

"You feel better?"

Makoto and Seijuurou were back in the freshman's dorm after walking their friends to the station. Dinner was...surely eventful, deciding on a place downtown, and luckily it was at a place that it was alright for them to be loud at such a late hour.

The redhead just smiled at Makoto's head in his lap, absentmindedly letting his fingers run through soft brown hair and melting from the adorable giggles coming from Makoto as it tickled his skin.

"Definitely better, because I have you."


	8. Sick Swimmer Blues

As soon as he felt the all-too familiar tickle in the back of his throat, Seijuurou knew that his immune system was done for.

It was cold season, and there were already a few members of the swim team out with 'on your ass' colds. Coughing, sniffling, stomachaches, headaches, you name it- one by one there were people catching it. Some even having to miss classes because they couldn't get out of bed without falling over and feeling as if their head was going to explode.

And that's where Seijuurou had been. In bed, trying to get some sleep but instead was coughing his lungs out.

Aikawa hadn't caught anything yet ( _Lucky bastard_ , Seijuurou thought, but played Seijuurou's saving grace for the meantime. Making sure there were plenty of things that the redhead could manage to keep down in his stomach, and plenty of fluids and of course, cough drops and medicine. Unfortunately, the swimmer's savior had a full day of classes and other things to do, so he couldn't stay in their room and make sure Seijuurou was alright because he was coughing almost constantly and sounded (and looked) like hell.

"Text me if you need anything!" He had said, before grabbing his bag and textbooks and left their room, leaving the redhead all alone.

He had thought about texting Makoto, of _course_ he had, but he didn't want to worry him with saying that he was sick enough to be missing class and practice, and Seijuuou already knew that the brunette had a lot going on right now. Instead, he just eyed the frame on his desk, bringing the orca plush to his chest as he coughed, eyes drooping shut as he tried to get some sleep.

However he didn't expect there to be a knock at his door about thirty minutes later, it slowly creaking open, and the voice of an angel.

_"Sei? It's me, Makoto."_

"M-Mako? What are-" He paused, allowing himself to cough again. "...what are you doing here?"

Makoto walked to the small counterspace, putting down the plastic bag he brought along with his backpack. "Aikawa texted me saying that you were sick."

"Makoto, you should be back in Iwatobi, at _school_." Seijuurou frowned, closing his eyes when Makoto brushed his hair aside to press his hand against his warm, sweaty forehead. "I'll just end up getting you sick, too."

"I'm not missing much today, it's alright. If anything did happen, I asked a classmate to make a set of notes for me." Makoto just smiled. "And I asked Haru if he would help me make something for you."

"...Is it mackerel-free?"

"Rice porridge, definitely mackerel free."

"Thank goodness." Seijuurou let his head fall back on his pillow.

"Hungry?"

Seijuurou shook his head. "No. Just in pain. Chest, head, everything."

"Ah, Aikawa also said that there was medicine somewhere..." Makoto looked around the room, spotting the bottles and assorted things on Seijuurou's desk. "How long ago did you take something?"

"Not too long ago..." The redhead turned on his side, and Makoto brought the comforter up to rest on his shoulders. "But really, you didn't have to come."

Makoto just smiled, kissing his cheek. "I wanted to."

"But-"

"No buts."

The redhead sighed, coughing once again, and frowning.

* * *

 

Makoto had set up a system.

He sat on the floor in front of Seijuurou's bed, book resting on his knees. He had one hand turning the pages and the other running through red hair, trying to soothe the redhead at least a bit so he could get some sleep. It had worked, aside from the times that he woke up coughing, but with Makoto there to help him, it wasn't long before his eyes were drooping shut again.

The brunette also made sure that there was at least _something_ in Seijuurou's stomach, keeping a warm bowl of the porridge on the floor next to him with a bottle of water, a few crackers, and medicine.

"Read to me?" Seijuurou requested, rubbing his knee against Makoto's shoulder. "Your voice is nice..."

Deciding that history would be nicer than having his boyfriend laugh at his broken English (just making him cough even more with giggling), Makoto went to the chapter on feudal Japan that he was currently studying. Reading page after page, Makoto finally heard Seijuurou's breathing get steady again, signaling to him that he was finally asleep once again. And it wasn't long after that, Aikawa returned.

"Is he feeling better?" He asked, making sure that he was quiet when taking his shoes off and setting his books down.

Makoto nodded, closing his textbook and carefully getting up from the floor. "Not as bad as this morning, but he definitely hasn't been coughing as much."

"Thanks for coming, even though he said not to tell you that he was sick, I couldn't just let him be all that miserable." Aikawa smiled. "Hopefully I can get some sleep tonight, too."

Gathering his things and placing a kiss to the side of his head, the captain laughed. "Hopefully you don't get sick from him, but I managed to wipe things down so it won't be that much of an issue."

"Tachibana, you are truly an angel and I look forward to the day I find someone as lovely as you."

"'S mine, kid." Seijuurou grumbled out, making his roommate and boyfriend laugh (and blush). "Mako's all mine 'kawa..."

"You better go before you miss your train and before _he_ wakes up again." Aikawa noted, glancing at the clock. "See you soon?"

"Ah, right! See you soon!" Makoto grabbed his things, and waving goodbye to Aikawa and his slumbering boyfriend.

* * *

 

Seijuurou frowned, rubbing Makoto's back as the brunette wheezed and coughed.

A few days after Makoto had taken care of Seijuurou, and as the redhead was feeling better, he had gotten a call from a very miserable-sounding Makoto. And wanting to be the knight in shining armor armed with sick remedies like his boyfriend had, he took the early afternoon train right to Iwatobi.

"I told you to go home and that it was no big deal that I was sick, love..." He sighed, wiping the tears from green eyes as Makoto tried to breathe. "Now you just feel as bad as I do."

"But now you have to..." The youngest closed his eyes, trying to keep his coughing to a minimum while he spoke. "...take care of me, now. I'm sorry."

The redhead hummed, pressing the cold washcloth to Makoto's forehead, making him whine. "Don't be sorry. Please don't ever be sorry, it wasn't your fault to begin with. Now come on, you need to get some sleep. I'll go do your chores and keep the twins busy while you rest."

The college student shifted to move from the bed, but stopped when he felt Makoto tug on his shirt.

"Please don't go." He whined, turning his head to cough against his arm and then looking back at Seijuurou with watery red-green eyes. "I-I mean for now, until I fall asleep. But you don't have to if you don't-" Makoto started coughing again, whining. "- _god_ this is awful."

Seijuurou smiled, sitting back down and pulling Makoto in his lap, along with a blanket.

"Anything for you. I'll stay all week if I have to if that means having my orca feel better."

Makoto pulled the blanket over his head, hiding his reddening face and coughing into Seijuurou's thigh. He hummed, placing a hand on the brunette's trembling shoulders and rubbed comforting circles, trying to lull the sick boy to sleep (and with the aid of medicine).

By the time Makoto was long asleep, breathing soundly for the first time in hours, Mrs. Tachibana stepped in to check on her son with a tray of snacks.

"Thank you for watching him, Seijuurou." She said with a slight laugh, putting the tray down on the bedside table next to their glasses of water and tissue box. "I even told him he was going to catch something when he went to see you when you were suffering from it, but...sometimes you just learn the hard way."

"Your son is definitely one of a kind, Mrs. Tachibana." Seijuurou smiled, brushing Makoto's bangs from his face to press his hand against his forehead. "And it's only fair since I'm the one that got him sick, and that he took care of me, I should return the favor."

"You're such a gentleman, and I'm happy that Makoto and yourself are happy together, too."

Seijuurou just smiled at the woman as she left the room, heart beating heavily against his chest.

"I am really happy. Better than happy."

 


	9. Chapter 9

With the previous swimming meet behind him and having the midterm pressure lifted from his shoulders, Seijuurou sighed in relief.

  
Both he and Aikawa had minimal sleep for the last week, both staying up late to study as much as they could for their upcoming tests and consuming unhealthy amounts of caffeine. The redhead felt slightly guilty, with asking Makoto to keep his laptop open and his webcam on while he studied so it would calm him down, with the brunette having his own midterms to deal with soon. The brunette had also decided to almost spam Seijuurou with positive 'good luck' texts and pictures, and even leaving voicemails when he had the spare time. It made the freshman happy, because it made him feel like he wasn't going through this alone, because in all honesty he wasn't since he had his roommate and new friends along with Makoto's unyielding support to get him through his stress.

  
As soon as he walked out of his last class, he sent a simple 'FINALLY' text to his boyfriend, and he wanted nothing more than to see the brunette and be able to unwind for the first time in a long time. Alas, he still had a few days to wait before he could do that, and even longer before they could relax together. Seijuurou already had a row of dates lined up as well that both he and Makoto were excited for.

  
"And hey, when you go through this next year at least I know how to help you out. Which means lots of cuddles, water, and sleep. Oh god, please make sure to sleep." Seijuurou teased, holding the phone up to his hear with his shoulder as he was going through all of the old papers in his desk to organize them. "And I'd get you like, cookies and things for snacks. The good stuff, that I know you like. The sugar cookies with the amazing frosting on 'em."

  
_"I know, you called me and left me delirious messages every day at two in the morning because you were still studying. And awwh, that's so sweet."_ Seijuurou could imagine the biggest smile on Makoto's face as he heard his voice. _"Funny that you mention those, because I'm about to go pick some up for the club get-together tonight. Well..._ "

  
"Club being, your club and then Rin being a tagalong because 'he just can'?"

  
_"Bingo. Just like always"_

  
"Are he and Haru together yet or something? I can't get any information out of Ai, and I know for sure that the kid likes him..."

  
_"I don't know, really. But if he's with Haru-chan or Ai-chan, as long as he's happy, then that's fine. Do you want me to keep an eye on them tonight...?"_

  
"Yep. Watch them and see if you catch 'em in any PDA and tell me right away." Seijuurou laughed, leaning back in his chair. "Ah, that reminds me, I forgot the team's throwing a party tonight, too. Captain insisted that everyone should go due to doing well in that last competition and to celebrate the short break and all."

  
_"Are you going to go? You sound...iffy about it"_

  
He shrugged. "Yeah, maybe. But I don't know if I'll stay for long, though. Still haven't caught up to my insanely messed up sleep schedule, yet. And sleeping sounds _wonderful._ "

  
_"I think it could be fun? You know, hang out with your teammates, meet new people if they're there, that sort of thing. Besides, it's the first party of the year, isn't it? Plus you mentioned all of those parties at Samezuka and I know you're a sociable person..."_

  
"It would be more fun with you. _.."_ Seijuurou sulked, and he could tell Makoto was frowning.

  
_"Sei..."_

  
"Alright, I'll go." He leaned back, sighing and running a hand through his hair. "But I won't stay for long. Maybe for an hour or so, but not for the whole thing."

  
_"Going to show up fashionably late and then leave before it all ends?_ " Makoto laughed. " _Seems just like you."_

  
"Hey, I'll have you know that I am the fun!"

  
" _Oh I know you are, I was just teasing a bit. But I gotta get going if I want to get things picked up and arrive at Haru's in time, text you later, have fun at your party?"_

  
"I'll keep my phone on me just in case, have fun at your thing too. Don't let things get too wild over there." Seijuurou laughed and opened his drawers, looking for something to wear. "Make sure that Nagisa and Rei keep their hands to themselves and remember to watch Haru and Rin!"

  
_"I'll try my best. Love you, talk to you soon!"_

  
"Love you too, Mako."

* * *

  
Deciding on wearing Makoto's orange and yellow shirt he was given and a pair of pants that weren't his sweats or trackpants, he left a note for Aikawa and left it on his desk (he was out as well, mentioning something about going to a cafe with people from his literature class) as he grabbed his wallet from his own desk (because 'you never know when you may need it') and phone, and met up with a few of his teammates outside of his building.

  
_'Out with the other swimmers, be back later'_

  
The party was being held by an upperclassman, a junior, and with the buzz going around (and how the music got louder and louder by the time the group reached the room it was in), word had definitely gotten around about it. It was no longer just a swim team party with a few extra guests, but people he hadn't even seen before were there. He sighed and pushed himself inside, past dozens of people and eventually found his captain, chatting away to a group of girls.

  
"Mikoshiba! You made it!" The blonde roughly patted Seijuurou's back, making the redhead wince. "You been here long?"

  
"Just got here!" He shouted, already feeling annoyed that he was going to have to shout just like everyone else to be heard. "Seems like a big turnout, huh?"

  
"Yeah, sorry about that! You know how it is, someone tells someone else and then the next thing you know there's complete strangers in your dorm. Ah, it can't be helped, everyone's here to have fun! Here! I think you'll like this!" He turned around to grab a plastic cup from the counter, putting it in Seijuurou's hand. "Number one rule of a college party, you can never be drink-less! That's one thing I learned from multiple parties over the years!" Someone called for the other man, and he gave Seijuurou an apologetic look with a shrug. "I'll see you later, 'shiba!"

  
Golden eyes blinked and stared down at the dark liquid in the cup in his hand, the smell of alcohol overpowering. _Should I...?_ he thought, biting his lip, and sighed. _Might as well_. Leaning against the wall, he brought the plastic to his lips, taking an experimental sip. Swallowing, he raised an eyebrow at the interesting taste, and took a larger drink. Not bad.

  
_Just one drink couldn't hurt..._

  
A group of his teammates caught his attention and he walked on over, finding an empty seat and listening in to the conversation before joining in. He wasn't sure if it was his easy going personality or the alcohol in his drink, but by the way he was starting to feel, he was starting to blame the alcohol and the stupid 'no one can be drink-less' rule that he was damn sure was made up. Soon enough he was laughing with the group, something about a certain teacher's antics in class regarding grading and schedules, absentmindedly drinking more from his cup.

  
"Another round for the swimmers and these lovely ladies! What've you been drinking, Sei?" A teammate had asked the redhead, standing up from the couch and stumbling forward a bit.

  
"No, I should really go-" Seijuurou started, but his friend just laughed.

  
"Nonsense, we've all been working hard, we all deserve this!" He took the cup, taking a drink from it and nodded. "Rum and coke, got it. Comin' right up."  
Part of him was surprised that he could easily (and quickly) tell from just a small taste, but as time went on as he stayed, with everyone drinking and being loud and having fun and the loud music and atmosphere and alcohol in his system, he wasn't sure what exactly was going on anymore. In minutes he had another drink in his hand, and minutes after another, and then another.

  
By the fifth, he was amazed that he was still functioning because he was sure that there was more rum than coke as more drinks were handed to him as the evening went on.  
The swimmer lazily leaned back against the soft cushions, staring at the half-full cup in his hands, moving his wrist so that the ice clinked against the side of the plastic and watching the dark liquid spin. He sighed, taking his phone from his pocket and skimmed through a few messages that Makoto had sent him.

  
_Having fun? Everyone wishes you were here._

  
_I keep on getting two of everything thinking that you'll be there waiting on the couch..._

  
_So far, the only PDA has been from Nagisa! Target dolphin-shark is still inconclusive._

  
_nAGISA SNUCK IN A HORROR MOVIE HELP_

  
He smiled, setting his glass down on the coffee table to reply to his boyfriend.

  
_You're aDorable, sweetheart._

  
The redhead glanced up, swearing that he heard someone say his name over the loud music, scanning the room and stopped when something caught his attention. Or rather, someone, who was turned to the side, casually glancing over at him from time to time while holding up his own conversation.

  
Someone like a tall brunette, with familiar green eyes that made his heart race.

  
"Mako...?" Seijuurou squinted his eyes, shoving his phone back in his pocket. "The hell is he doing here? You should be back in Iwatobi, with your friends, dammit..."  
Seijuurou stood up, legs wobbling, pushing past people to get to what his golden eyes were focused on. As he got closer, there was something different, almost odd about Makoto that his intoxicated mind couldn't place a finger on.

  
"Mikoshiba, you okay?" He heard someone ask, as he stood infront of Makoto, trying to focus on his face. "How many drinks did you have?"

  
Seijuurou still didn't realize as he pressed Makoto against the wall, pressing their lips together suddenly and vicously, with tongues and teeth, groaning against parted lips as he felt hands drift to squeeze at his ass.

  
Or hearing his voice near his ear, confused at first, but then going along with it, pushing it off to the back of his mind. And how it sounded different, not the soothing voice that made his heart melt with every word like it usually does as lips nibbled and licked at his neck.

  
And not even moments after, as Seijuurou found himself in a dimly-lit bedroom, clothes shed quickly and tearing open a condom packet with his teeth.

Because it wasn't Makoto.

* * *

  
The redhead woke up the next morning, head pounding, and moments after he opened his eyes, he panicked.

  
He was naked, in an unfamiliar room, with quite a few people around. But the one thing that made him freak out the most, was the person who had his arms around his waist, just as naked as he was. Carefully, he untangled himself from the stranger, rolling over to swing his legs off the bed so he can get his things and leave.  
Seijuurou paused, seeing his pile of clothes by the edge of the bed, the foil from the condom packet (that he knew was his, due to the brand), and then the tied and soiled condom itself in the wastebin. His heart began to pound, finally piecing things together.

  
Waking up to a man he's never seen before that looked like Makoto (if you squint)...

  
...And seeing a used condom in the trash...

  
...And that he wasn't sore, and by the looks of the doppleganger sleeping soundly with a satisfied look on his face...

  
"...shit. SHIT!" The swimmer hastily picked up his clothes, trying to get dressed as quick as he could. "Oh my god, oh fuck...!"

  
He fumbled with his phone, cursing more once he saw the reddening hickies on his collarbones and neck and going to his inbox that had plenty of new messages.  
  
 _Hope you're okay and didn't have too much to drink! And yeah, before you ask, it's completely fine if you stay here tonight._ From the teammate who had the party, and currently passed out on his couch.

  
_You didn't come back to the dorm last night, where are you?_ Aikawa.

  
_How was it? Have fun after all?_ Makoto.

  
_It's alright, I know you're probably too busy to answer and you're probably more than happy to be sleeping. Good morning, I love you_. Makoto again.

  
His heart stopped pounding and just flat-out dropped at the sight of Makoto's name. He sent quick replies to his teammate and Aikawa, saying that he was going to be gone today because he needed to do something and that he was sorry for it being sudden.

  
Because he needed to get on the next train to Iwatobi as soon as he could.


	10. Cat Cuties

Makoto sighed, waiting at the station for the train to come in.

  
Seijuurou had been running a bit late, making him miss the first train to Iwatobi that day so he had to wait for the next one, which wouldn't be for another few hours. There were the apology texts and the apology calls, but Makoto just smiled and said it was fine, and that everything can wait for when he finally arrived.

  
"I'm just happy you're coming." Makoto had said, hearing how frustrated Seijuurou was on the other line. "I hadn't prepared any of the snacks yet or anything else, I've only cleaned up a bit, so it's okay. You can stop apologizing now, I understand!"

  
The oldest just groaned. " _But really, honest, I'm really really sorry-! I would be there right now if it wasn't for my carelessness!"_

  
"Seijuurou..."

  
_"I'll make it up to you, I swear! I know you were really looking forward to today, and I was too but-!"_

  
"Calm down, okay? All that matters is that you're on your way now."

  
_"Ah, right..."_

  
The brunette sat himself on a bench, replying to the redhead's texts and trying to keep himself occupied for the next hour. He could always leave and come back, but there was just something about wanting to see his boyfriend so badly that he didn't want to miss the chance if the train had shown up before schedule. So he stayed.

  
"That guy, I swear..." Makoto mumbled, smiling to himself. Seijuurou was late because they had planned to go out to dinner that evening, and just like their first date, the redhead couldn't decide what to wear. And was embarrassed to admit it.

"He's lucky he's handsome with him not being smart sometimes..."

  
Makoto's phone chirped with receiving a new text, most likely from the redhead, but there was also another sound that caught his attention: a small meow that was close to him. Very close. He looked around, trying to find the source of the noise and finally saw a small, white kitten hiding beside the bench, closest to Makoto's feet, tail resting on top of his shoe.

  
"H-Hey there..." He smiled, reaching over the metal armrest carefully, trying not to scare the small creature, and gently picked it up in his hands to rest it in his lap. "You all alone?" There was a tiny mewl in response, and Makoto scratched behind its small ears. "It's okay, I'm just waiting for someone, I'll keep you company. I won't hurt you, cutie..."  
Moments passed, the kitten happily purring away in his lap and Makoto continuing to message his boyfriend that was still on his way. Once he was done replying to Seijuurou's message of 'there's sure a lot of strange people on the train today', blue eyes looked at the brunette's screensaver, of Seijuurou and his bedhead, meowing at the image and Makoto hummed in response.

  
"That's Sei, who I'm waiting for. He's my...boyfriend." The kitten rubbed against his hand, and his thumb brushed against it's small nose. "Yeah, he is cute, huh? He said that he doesn't like it when his hair is a mess like that, but I really like it..."

  
Makoto paused, staring down at the kitten in his lap. People in his town knew that he liked cats, but it wouldn't be weird if he talked to one...would it? Especially about his love life?

  
_Ah, to hell with it_ , Makoto thought.

  
"I...like him a lot, you know." The kitten turned its head, staring up at Makoto with big eyes. "It's funny, people always thought that I would end up with Haru-chan, my best friend because we're known each other for so long and are near inseparable and have a bond, but...I'm glad Seijuurou came along, you know? He's smart and nice and funny and handsome, a great swimmer, and he knows how to say the right things...we haven't been together for all that long yet, about a month or so, but time has just flew by because I've been so happy..."

  
The kitten pawed at Makoto's leg, signaling that it wanted more scratches as it continued to listen.

  
"And I'm really, really happy with him, you know...at first I would have never thought the two of us would even be together, since we seem completely different and all..." Makoto paused, scratching under the kitten's chin. "Being with him...I just can't really express it, other than it makes me the happiest. Like Haru and his water and Nagisa and his sweets, I guess. Or like when you get scratched behind the ears or get a good snack. I'm just happy and excited and looking forward to all of the great things we do together and...loved, that's kinda important." Makoto laughed, feeling the kitten's tongue against his hand.

  
"I think you'd like him, too. Even though he's more of a dog person, he's admitted to me before that some cats are cute and he wouldn't mind having one when we..." Another pause, taking a moment to collect himself and feeling his cheeks warm up. "...we possibly move in together. O-of course that's way ahead, not for another few years! And I wouldn't mind having a dog too...one that gets along with cats, definitely."

  
The brunette was so lost in talking to the kitten, that he almost missed the sound of the train pulling into the station. Makoto looked up, seeing a few people dwindle out and the sight of Seijuurou coming towards him with a smile on his face made his heart melt and breath catch in his throat.

  
"Sorry, love." Seijuurou apologized, adjusting his overnight bag so that he could help Makoto up and place a kiss on his forehead. "Oh, found another kitten?"

  
Makoto nodded, cradling the feline in his hands. "Yeah...she was hiding underneath the bench, and she kept me company while waiting for you."

  
Seijuurou smiled, letting the kitten rub against his hand. "Well thank you then, kitty. Maybe it was a good thing that I was late after all, or else Mako wouldn't have found met you."

  
"Ah, d'you think we could stop by Haru's first? We could drop her off and see if she likes the other cats..." Makoto asked, walking alongside Seijuurou. "I don't think one more around there would hurt, and it's a safer place to be than a train station."

  
"Of course, not a problem at all." Seijuurou wrapped an arm around Makoto's waist. "Did you think of a name, yet?"

  
"Oh! No, I completely forgot, I was too busy talking about how much I..." Makoto paused, feeling his face heat up.

  
"How much you what?" Makoto felt Seijuurou's fingers brush against the hem of his shirt, and he knew that the redhead was grinning. "C'mon, please? Tell me?"

  
"I was talking about...how much I like you."

  
Seijuurou stopped walking, turning so that he was facing his embarrassed boyfriend and put his hands over the small kitten's body.

  
"Makoto." He said, slowly leaning in and staring into green eyes. "You are just too adorable for your own good, you know that?" The redhead pressed their lips together, both boys giggling when the kitten would move and tickle their skin with it's whiskers and soft fur.

  
"I love you, Makoto."

  
"I love you too, Seijuurou."

  
The older captain linked his arm around Makoto's waist again, the brunette resting his head on Seijuurou's shoulder as they walked to Haruka's to place the kitten in its new home. By the time they got there, the other cats were eagerly following Makoto to the steps.

  
Seijuurou watched as Makoto set down the small kitten, being almost swarmed by the other felines, making him laugh and complain that he didn't have enough hands to pet them all at the same time with. All while the redhead took out his phone, sneaking a few pictures of his giggling boyfriend and immediately set it as his new wallpaper with a smile.

  
"Alright, this is your new home okay?" Makoto got up, talking directly to the white kitten. "I'll come see you every day or whenever I can, okay-"

  
"Tama." Seijuurou finished, smiling as Makoto turned his head to look at him. "Can that be her name?"

  
"It's perfect. Definitely a change from names of fish courtesy of Haru-chan." Makoto laughed. "Okay, Tama? So when you see a blue-eyed black haired boy that smells like mackerel, that's Haru. He'll take care of you too, mostly on the days where I'm not here."

  
The kitten mewled in response, allowing the other cats to sniff at it. In moments the white kitten was accepted, following the group to where they reside for most of the day up the steps. Makoto and Seijuurou just smiled, whispering 'bye Tama' and watching as the felines disappeared from their sight.

  
"Is this how our parents feel like when we go somewhere?" Seijurou asked, squeezing Makoto's hip. "Sure feels like it, even though I only knew her for like...fifteen minutes."

  
"I'm happy the others liked her. Cats can be pretty tricky with that sort of thing."

  
"I like you." Seijuurou grinned and nuzzled the brunette's neck, making Makoto laugh. "I like you quite a bit."

  
"Are you a cat now, too? Does my Sei kitty need some attention?" Makoto teased, scratching Seijuurou's head and messing up his styled hair. "C'mon, there's cookies that need to be eaten back at home, and movies to be watched."

  
"And a cute brunette that needs to be kissed."

"That too."

  
"Yes, sweetheart." Purred Seijuurou, happily following Makoto down the street to his home.


	11. Chapter 11

Seijuurou had his head pressed against the glass window, staring outside at everything passing by as his hands shook. He had texted Aikawa again, reassuring his roommate that he was still alive and that he wasn't sure when he would be back. Everything was silent, aside from the sound of the train on the tracks, and a few people flipping through their magazines and books, others chatting quietly.

  
He didn't regret running out immediately. Stepping over both sleeping and semi-conscious students in a hurry, cursing when tripping over a larger body as he reached for the door to be hit with the morning chill. Seijuurou ran right to the station, legs heavy, heart pounding and lungs burning, slowing down once he reached the platform and boarded, sitting in a near-secluded area and taking a moment to just breathe.

  
 _What am I gonna tell him...?_ He thought, biting the inside of his mouth _. Oh hey, remember that party I was at last night? Well, I got completely wasted off my ass and fucked a guy I thought was you. No worries, it meant nothing, we still on for our date?_

  
_He may have looked like you sweetheart, but you are definitely way better than he was. Is. I can't remember, really._

  
_You said I should go, remember? Well then it's partially your fault for nudging me on, but then my own for going along with drinking as much as I did, so technically..._

  
_Is there anything I can do? I fucked up, I know damn well I did, please don't be mad at me-_

  
"...stupid." Seijuurou mumbled, closing his eyes. "I'm so stupid, and manage to screw up the one good thing..."

  
Not telling Makoto wasn't even an option. The two were always honest with each other, because they thought it wasn't fair to keep either of them in the dark, especially if it was important like this. No matter how severe it was, from forgetting something like their anniversary to something that would be illegal they had made the pact to tell the truth no matter what. And of course, if Makoto came to him in the middle of the night, holding a shovel and covered in blood and asked him to help him bury a body and rendezvous with him out of country, Seijuurou would in a heartbeat and ask questions later.

  
The topic had come up when the two had stumbled upon a drama on tv to watch (moreso to serve as background noise) while mindlessly studying. It involved a woman who was seeing two men at the same time, obviously lying to both of them.

  
_"Can't you believe that people would actually do that?" Seijuurou said, tapping his pencil against his notebook, glancing up at the screen._

  
_"Mmm, wouldn't you think that the person would feel guilty, though? Plus it'd take a lot of work to, well, make it work." Makoto reached over to the bowl of grapes on the edge of the table, plucking one from the stem to put it in his mouth._

  
_"You wouldn't date someone of the side while dating me and lie about it, would you?"_

  
_Makoto shook his head, frowning. Taking a moment to finish chewing and swallowed, he spoke._

  
_"N-never! I wouldn't even be able to lie to you! You...wouldn't, would you?"_

  
_Seijuurou smiled, taking his free hand to put it on top of Makoto's, squeezing. "I promise, I would never lie to you. Or date someone else behind your back."_

  
All because he loved everything about Makoto Tachibana. And that after today, Makoto Tachibana would hopefully still love everything about Seijuurou Mikoshiba. Faults, mistakes, and all.

  
"What even happened...?" He sighed. "I remember...the drinks, and checking my phone and texting Makoto, and then seeing...that guy." How would Makoto even react to that? Sleeping with someone else is one thing, but me thinking that it was him when it wasn't...it's all bad, isn't it?

  
At least if he wants to break up, or anything, I'll know it'll be entirely my own damn fault.

  
The redhead clenched his fists, both in anger and disappointment.

  
He was certain he was getting looked at by the other passengers. Hair a mess, wrinkled clothes, looking as if his entire world was coming to a hault...because it was. Seijuurou had to tell the love of his life that he had the nerve while intoxicated that he had sex with another man 'who looked just like him', and the fact that he was drunk might not help at all. He didn't care if he was being judged by people he would never encounter again with all of the cold glances and mutterings, he had to tell Makoto, and he had to be honest. And it had to be now.

  
Not tomorrow.

  
Not in a week.

  
Not in a month.

  
Not on their wedding day.

  
Not when they retire happily.

  
Not on his death bed.

  
Not in the next life.

  
_Today._

  
Seijuurou tried to ignore the guilt pooling in his stomach as he saw Makoto text him again, saying _I think I want to try and cook for you when you come down as a 'good job on finishing midterms', I'll make your favorite meal if that's okay with you! I've been getting really confident in my skills!_

  
And responding almost seemed too natural.

  
_Yeah. Sounds great, love._

  
The redhead bit his lip at his response, imagining Makoto's joy at Seijuurou being willing to see if Makoto's cooking skills had improved. _He's probably all smiles and excitedly telling Haru and the others about it..._ , Seijuurou thought, feeling the train decrease in speed. _And then...it'll all end because of me. Of what I did._

  
Once the train pulled into the Iwatobi station, his first instinct was to go to Makoto's school. But he hesitated, with there still being time before class was even over and with having swim practice and all, instead finding an empty park to be able to collect his thoughts that was simply along the way. The same park where he and Makoto would go quite often with the twins, remembering clearly how they would give the tiny Tachibanas piggy back races and even picnic lunches. He sat on a bench, staring at the swings moving from the slight breeze and allowing himself to just sit back and calm down.

  
Seijuurou leaned back, closing his eyes again, listening to the birds chirping and leaves in the breeze. "If Makoto doesn't kill me..." He groaned. "Nanase and Matsuoka will, that's for sure."

  
Which was right. Seijuurou recalled Rin's warning of if he ever hurt Makoto, and this definitely was something that would hurt the brunette. For one he was happy that Makoto had such devoted friends that would stand up for him and protect him, but where he stood now, he was only thinking who of the pair would hit harder when they would hear the news.

  
Would Makoto even tell Haruka or Rin? Seijuurou wondered if Makoto would even dare to say anything (because 'my boyfriend slept with another guy' probably wouldn't come up much in normal conversation), so for them to find out Makoto would have to be really upset. Or the two would try to get him to talk about it, if he appeared not like his usual self. And of course, after the two would find out, he would expect Rin to storm right over to punch him in the face, screaming. Haruka's approach however, would be silent, yet pack the same punch as Rin's.

  
The swimmer flinched when his phone started vibrating in his pocket, letting off harsh beeping and quickly fished it out of his pocket, and frowned once he saw that it was Aikawa.

  
"Yeah-?"

  
_"Sei! So you're okay? Where the hell are you?! Your text wasn't all that informative, you know! I was expecting you to be back last night, I even brought you back dinner!"_

  
"Iwatobi." He leaned back on the bench, stretching his legs out. "Where else would I be?"

  
_"Iwa- why are you there? What happened?"_

  
"I fucked up."

  
_"What are you talking about? Being specific would be nice, man."_

"Last night, at the party, I..." He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Had too much to drink and..." Seijuurou hesitated.

  
_"Well...?"_

  
"I slept with someone that I thought was Makoto out of my own drunken stupidity and I have to make things right? That answer your questions?"

  
 _"Shit, Mikoshiba_!" Aikawa paused. _"Sorry, I...I'm sorry to hear that, must've been a real...yeah, I don't even know what to say, I don't go to these things. So are you there to tell Makoto the whole nitty gritty truth or...?"_

  
"Of course I am, I can't just not tell him or lie to him, I just...I just can't do that to him, when this is bad enough. If I would lie, and he were to find out, or if I completely didn't tell him and he found out...I wouldn't be able to forgive myself." Seijuurou paused. "Even if it ends in him hating me and wanting to break up because of what I did."

  
" _He really looked like him, huh?"_

  
Seijuurou sighed. "Yeah. There were a few things slightly off when I saw him this morning, but I guess being drunk off your ass doesn't matter. I can't even remember half of the shit that happened."

  
_"But in the end, it wasn't Makoto, only some guy, and I totally understand, you really love Tachibana don't you? Or else I really don't think that you would be there now, waiting for him to tell. Call or text me if anything goes wrong or if you need me, alright? When will you be back?"_

  
"Yeah...and I don't know, maybe tonight? Tomorrow? It all depends on how things work out."

  
_"Anytime. Good luck, see you later. Tell him I say hi. Fingers crossed that it all works out fine."_

  
Seijuurou sighed, hanging up and glancing down at the illuminated clock. The final school bell had rung not too long ago, meaning that Makoto would be heading to swim practice and would be in the pool any minute along with the rest of the club. And that soon enough he would have to face Makoto and tell the truth.

  
"It's now or never."

  
By the time he got there, not wanting to rush and with his legs feeling like lead, swim practice was halfway over, and the closer he got to the pool the more he felt like he was going to be sick. There Makoto would be, with his friends and being happy, not knowing that his 'perfect' boyfriend was going to tell him news that would make him the most upset he'd ever experience. What would he even do? Would Makoto just cry right then and there, or hold it in? Would he yell? Would Haruka's telepathy kick in and attempt to drown him in the pool right then and there even before mentioning anything?

  
Seijuurou's goal was clear: go someplace where they could talk, alone, tell him, and hope for the best. Hopefully it would all blow over soon, Makoto wouldn't be as upset as he thought he would, and they would kiss and cuddle and almost act as if it never happened.

  
The faint splashes soon became more audible as he stepped closer, hearing the club in full practice mode. Seijuurou leaned against the fence, watching. There was Gou, keeping track of times. Haruka, of course, swimming laps past everyone. Rei was stretching. And there was Nagisa, cheering on Makoto as the brunette swam to improve his time, and his stomach dropped yet again when bright pink eyes found the redhead.

  
_Shit._

  
"Mako-chan, Sei is here!"

  
There were questionable "Sei?" responses from Gou and Rei, looking towards the redhead themselves. Seijuurou even caught Haruka glancing over at him, turning his head as they made eye contact and going back under the water in an instant.

  
The blonde's shouted words reached the team captain, making him swim faster to get to the edge, pulling himself out and removing his swim cap and goggles, looking everywhere for the redhead. Once Makoto spotted him, signature smile and all and green eyes shining like he just found a room full of kittens, it just made Seijuurou feel even more guilty that he was going to tell him something that could break their relationship in a matter of moments.

  
_Please don't look at me like that, like everything is okay._

  
"Well this is a surprise!" Makoto beamed, toweling his skin dry and standing in front of Seijuurou. "I thought you weren't coming down here for another few days!"

  
_Please don't talk to me in that happy tone, when I am not happy about this._

  
"Yeah...just figured that it'd be...nice to see you." Mikoshiba, don't you dare lie. "I missed you."

  
"I'm really, I just...you've surprised me before but like this?" The blush on Makoto's cheeks made Seijuurou's heart catch in his throat. "You're wonderful, Seijuurou."

  
"L-Listen, Mako..."

  
_Don't. Lie. Stop stepping around and get to the point._

  
"Just a sec."

  
Makoto draped the towel around his neck, lacing his fingers with Seijuurou's, leaning up to press their lips together. While Makoto was expecting wonderful peppermint and undertones of chocolate, there was an unfamiliar bitterness instead and he pulled away like the redhead had just bitten him. He took a moment to look Seijuurou over, at all of the disheveled redhead, eyes searching for any answer in clouded gold, to find some kind of answer to his confusion. And found nothing.

  
But Seijuurou could see it in Makoto's eyes, the ones that he's stared in to so many times, that he was worried. Panicking, almost.

  
"Sei...is everything okay?"

  
_Please, please don't hate me._

  
The worried look on Makoto's face mixed with the tone of his gentle voice was almost enough to make the oldest break down right there.

  
"Makoto...I-I need to talk to you." He grit out, voice shaking. "It's important, and I need to talk to you as soon as possible. In...private."

  
_I love you too much to hate me._


	12. Meeting the Parents

"They'll love you, it'll be okay." Makoto smiled, squeezing Seijuurou's hand for comfort. "By what I've told then since we've started dating, they think that you're wonderful and actually said they couldn't wait to meet you. The twins, too."

  
"But this is a big, big thing, Mako. I don't want to mess up in front of them and make them think that I'm the wrong person for you." The redhead sighed, resting his head on Makoto's shoulder. "And this is a...big step, meeting them and all."

  
Makoto laughed, feeling Seijuurou jump slightly when he heard the front door open and shut, Ren and Ran's voices echoing through the hall. He looked over at Makoto, who just gave a smile and a nod, and kissed the side of his head.

* * *

  
"Ren, Ran, you know I've told you a lot about Sei, right?"

  
Seijuurou leaned against the wall, hands in his pockets as he listened to Makoto talk to his siblings.

  
"He's really nervous about meeting mom and dad, so could you go easy on him please? I'm sure that once he gets warmed up to you two he'll be more than happy to play."  
There was a chorus of 'yes big brother!' before Makoto came back into view, a sibling on each of his sides holding onto his hand.

  
"Seijuurou...meet my siblings." Makoto looked down to the small boy at his right. "This is Ren." He gave a small smile, waving with his spare hand. "And this is Ran." She beamed instantly at the redhead, which was very similar to her big brother's smile.

  
"Well hi there." Seijuurou took a step forward, crouching down to get at their eye level. "Mako's told me a lot about you two."

  
"You...your eyes are really pretty!" Ran said. "Like momma's jewelry!"

  
He smiled, looking up at Makoto. "Thank you, your brother thinks they're pretty, too."

  
"Your hair is red just like that other person big brother is friends with, does that mean you have shark teeth too?" Ren asked. "His sister doesn't, but..."

  
Looking at the smaller boy, he opened his mouth for a moment, showing off his teeth, and Ren sighed in relief. Soon enough they were asking the redhead questions, like is Samezuka really different from Iwatobi high school, if he could out-swim Makoto, his favorite color, if he had any siblings, his favorite foods, and if he liked unicorns better than dinosaurs.

  
The four were in a 'heated' discussion (more like Ren and Ran arguing about the last question that was asked) when Mrs. Tachibana poked her head into the room.

  
"Makoto, could you help me with dinner really fast please?" The twins groaned and hugged Makoto's long legs, not wanting their brother to get up.

  
"I-I could help." Seijuurou offered, making Makoto smile. "It's not a problem at all, really. Besides, you seem...busy with those two on your legs like that."

  
"You don't have to!" Makoto tried to coax Ran off of his leg, and Seijuurou just laughed.

  
"It's not a problem at all."

  
Makoto pecked Seijuurou's reddening cheek, making his way to the kitchen to see Makoto's mother preparing pork for their dinner.

  
"H-Hi, Mrs. Tachibana." Seijuurou spoke up, standing at the counter next to the woman and seeing her smile. "I'm Seijuurou Mikoshiba."

  
"It's such a pleasure to finally meet you, Makoto's been telling me and my husband so much about you. And if you like, you can just call me Asako, dear." She handed the redhead a knife, pointing to the vegetables near the cutting board. "Could you cut those, please?"

  
Seijuurou nodded, carefully cutting each vegetable into smaller pieces.

  
"You seem really nervous." The older woman said to break the silence, and the swimmer almost dropped the knife in his hand, making Asako laugh. "It's okay, there's nothing to be worried about."

  
"I've just...never met the parents of who I'm dating before." He carefully put the chopped carrots into the bowl to his side. "That kind of stuff is always important."

  
"And you're afraid that my husband and I won't like you?" Seijuurou nodded, and Asako put her hand on his back. "Seijuurou, from the moment Makoto expressed how much he felt about you after when you two went to the movies, we liked you immediately. Even Haruka confirmed it."

  
He smiled, the two laughing a bit when they could hear Makoto playing with the twins in the living room. "You have no idea how much your son means to me."

  
"Love is a wonderful thing, isn't it?" Asako said as she put the dirty utensils in the sink to soak. "I felt the same way with Tatsu. When I met his parents, his mother...wasn't too keen of me at first. But the more I met her and interacted with her, and didn't push myself on to her to make her like me, she finally came around. Thankfully before the wedding, that was a miracle." She gave a small laugh, drying her hands on her apron.

  
"See, that's how I feel about my parents though." Golden eyes focused on the celery stalk on the cutting board. "I have the deepest feeling that they won't like him even though he's the sweetest person in the world, and he's supposed to come over next weekend to meet them and my sister."

  
"If it happens, give them time. It's just like forcing anyone to like anything. I didn't like celery when I was a child, but now?" She picked up one of the cubes and put it in her mouth, chewing with a smile. "I love it."

  
There was a chorus of 'daddy!' (and 'father' from Makoto) as Mr. Tachibana entered the home, greeting his children and strolling into the kitchen to greet his wife with a 'I'm home' kiss and stared at the redhead, surprised.

  
"This is Makoto's special person, Tatsuya." Asako smiled, seeing how tense Seijuurou looked.

  
"Ah, Seijuurou...isn't it?"

  
He nodded, outstretching his arm to shake hands, letting the air escape from his mouth when Tatsuya shook it. "Seijuurou Mikoshiba, sir."

  
"It's nice to finally meet you, Seijuurou. Makoto's told us a lot about you." He laughed when he saw Seijuurou swallow. "Good things, don't worry."

  
"He's been really nervous about this, dear." Asako added. "And he's such a gentleman, offering to help me with dinner. He's a natural with a cutting knife!"

  
"Is that so?" Tatsuya looked between his wife and the older captain. "Well I'm glad, that means that since Makoto isn't...the best in the kitchen, after all-"

  
"I can cook things just fine!" Makoto pouted, coming into the kitchen after putting on a program for Ren and Ran to watch to keep them occupied. "Just...not a lot of things."

  
"That's fine, Seijuurou here can cook for you!" Tatsuya said, making Seijuurou blink. "Isn't that right?"

  
"Y-yeah." Seijuurou smiled. "Living at the dorms and having the option to make your own stuff in the communal kitchen rather than the cafeteria, you learn a few things..."

  
Makoto looked over at Seijuurou who was talking to his parents with ease, feeling his heart swell. The brunette smiled, remembering how doubtful his boyfriend felt about meeting them.

  
_You feel silly now, huh?_

  
"Makoto dear, are you listening?"

  
The brunette blinked, snapping out of his thoughts hearing his mother directly speak to him and looking back at his parents and Seijuurou. "W-what? I'm sorry, I guess I zoned out for a moment, I'm sorry..."

  
"So that means you didn't catch the part that we accepted Seijuurou's request to marry you?"

  
"E-ehh?!" Makoto flushed bright red, mouth agape and staring at Seijuurou who was holding back laughter, just like his parents.

  
"She was teasing, sweetheart." Seijuurou smiled at his pouting boyfriend, leaning back against the counter. "Plus, it's a bit too early to be getting married now, isn't it?"

  
"Shiba and big brother are getting married?!" Ren and Ran gasped, dashing to the foursome and looking up at the two swimmers with expecting wide eyes and big smiles.

"When? When!"

Makoto only shook his head, lightly hitting Seijuurou's bicep with his clenched hand.

* * *

  
A week later, Makoto knocked on the door of the Mikoshiba residence.

  
He waited, heart thumping against his chest, hands rubbing against the fabric of his jeans. Makoto tried to get a good night's sleep, after messaging Seijuurou constantly with the redhead teasing him about him being as nervous as he was.

  
"You just have to put on that Tachibana charm that comes natural, dear. That's all. Now get some sleep, okay?"

  
Makoto exhaled when he heard footsteps come to the door, and the handle move. He expected to see Seijuurou standing there, wide smile and all and ready to greet him, but instead when the door was pulled open, there was no one in eyesight. Green eyes tilted downwards, seeing a small girl with red hair and similar golden eyes, hiding halfway behind the door.

  
"Oh, you must be Mei!" Makoto smiled, seeing her eyes widen at him knowing her name. "It's nice to finally be able to meet you, Seijuurou's showed me lots of cute pictures."

  
She didn't respond, instead, she suddenly shut the door, leaving Makoto blinking and staring at the wooden door, baffled. Short moments later, he heard more footsteps and voices, and the door opened again, seeing Seijuurou with an apologetic look on his face.

  
"Sorry about that, she's...really shy." He scratched the back of his head, allowing for his boyfriend to come inside and take off his shoes. "I would have come and answered the door, but I was busy doing a few things..."

  
"It's alright." Makoto unzipped his jacket after slipping his shoes off, hanging it on the nearby coatrack, feeling Seijuurou's hands on his shoulders to rub them slightly. "To be honest I just didn't expect the door to be shut like that?"

  
"I'll have to have a talk with her." He sighed, placing a kiss to Makoto's hairline. "Still nervous?" Makoto nodded, and Seijuurou wrapped his arm around his waist. "It'll be okay. If anything happens, I'll be right beside you."

  
Taking a deep breath, the two walked into the living room, where Seijuurou's parents were, along with Mei who was quietly coloring. Seijuurou and Mei definitely took after their mother and father, the resemblance uncanny.

  
"Mom, dad...this is Makoto." Seijuurou spoke, voice calm, but steady. He felt Makoto tense up when they looked at him, and Seijurou squeezed his hip. "You've already met Mei, but this is my mother Megumi and my father Koji."

  
"Hello." Makoto gave a small smile. "It's really nice to meet you!"

  
The older couple was silent, before Koji decided to speak.

  
"My son's told us quite a lot about you when we speak on the phone." He glanced over at Seijuurou, and then at Makoto. "You weren't quite what I imagined you to look like, but..."

  
"Dad." Seijuurou rolled his eyes. "I know, you thought he was a girl when I said that his name was Makoto. So you thought he was petite and cute. But at least he's still cute though!" Makoto flushed, biting the inside of his cheek to keep his composure.

  
"Would you like some tea, dear?" Megumi asked, getting up from her place on the loveseat. "Or some snacks? Dinner won't be for awhile."

  
"A-ah, tea would be lovely." Makoto said, as Seijuurou lead him to take a seat on the couch. "Thank you."

  
"I'll help you, ma." Seijuurou winked at the brunette, disappearing into the kitchen.

  
Mei had also gotten up, tidying up her small coloring area to follow her big brother to possibly help as well, leaving Makoto and Koji in an uncomfortable silence. The oldest Mikoshiba set down his reading material, staring at Makoto.

  
"So, Makoto..." He cleared his throat, breaking eye contact for a second. "How did you meet my son?"

  
"Ah, you see, I'm captain of the Iwatobi swim club, and my friend Rin Matsuoka attends Samezuka along with Seijuurou." Makoto paused, seeing Koji nod at the mention of Rin. "We've met a few times, chatting here and there because our team manager and Rin's younger sister Kou pulled some strings, due to our...unfortunate budget issue of not being able to swim at the gym year round and we only have access to our outdoor pool, he was kind enough to let us join in on their practices."

  
"That seems like my son, always looking out for others. He's really kind." Koji adjusted his glasses. "He actually mentioned that he allowed another team to swim with them awhile back, but I never asked anything further from it. So I only knew that there were four of you, and then the younger Matsuoka. It's a shame your club doesn't have any more members."

  
Makoto nodded, smiling slightly. "It's...been difficult to recruit members, but I'm just glad that we got at least one person to join so that we have the minimal amount of members needed to participate in tournaments and such! And we have lots of fun, too."

  
"That's always good to hear. Make due with what you have?" Koji asked, and Makoto nodded again. "You seem like a determined young man, I like that."

  
"T-thank you, Mr. Mikoshiba."

  
"Please, you can call me Koji. You seem really tense. Everything's fine, it's alright. If my wife or myself didn't like you, this meeting would have ended already."

  
Makoto smiled upon seeing Koji smile himself, and saw the three other Mikoshibas come back into the room with tea and snacks. Seijuurou set the tea tray on the coffee table, carefully picking up two cups and handed one to Makoto, sitting beside the brunette. Megumi handed one to her husband as well, and Mei resumed her coloring off to Seijuurou's left.

  
"Ah, Makoto." Green eyes glanced up from his cup of tea, back up at Koji. "I...wanted to apologize. When Seijuurou had called, saying that he was...going on a date with a Makoto, I thought that you were a girl."

  
"Oh no, it's fine!" The brunette gave a reassuring smile. "I...actually get that a lot. Me and my friends, we all have kinda girly names."

  
"Oh?" Megumi's eyebrows slightly raised, taking a sip of her tea.

  
"Yes. There's me, and my best friend Haruka, Nagisa who Haru and I have known since we took lessons, the swimmer we recruited-Rei, and then Rin." Makoto laughed. "Ah, we're all used to the reactions though. It's no big deal."

  
"I think it's charming." Megumi smiled. "Definitely unique, for all of you."

"Thank you."

  
"Now, eat up! Cookies won't stay warm for forever, you know. Seijuurou mentioned you liked chocolate, so I made oatmeal raisin chocolate chip, I hope that's alright-"

  
"I helped!" Seijuurou grinned, setting down his almost-empty cup to hand Makoto a cookie. "Here."

  
Makoto's cheeks grew pink, taking the cookie from Seijuurou and smiling, the familiar heart-fluttering returning.

* * *

  
"They loved you." Seijuurou nuzzled Makoto's neck. "See? Nothing to be worried about now, I told you that everyone loves you, it's impossible _not_ to love you."

  
"I was just worried because you were worried about it yourself." Makoto smiled, zipping his coat back up. "But I'm glad it went well. I was actually really sort of...afraid to talk to your dad, though."

  
"But then all that worry just disappeared when you actually talked to them, right?"

  
"Right. I guess you can say I fit right in after making your mom laugh like that!"

  
Seijuurou snorted, placing a kiss to Makoto's temple, muttering 'silly'. He was about to open the door to walk Makoto to the station when he felt a small hand tug at his jacket. The older captain glanced down, seeing little Mei standing there, a white paper clutched in her hand and biting her lip.

  
"Yeah, sis?"

"...I-I'm sorry for shutting the door on you, Makoto." She said, voice filled with nervousness. "It was wrong and rude and I shouldn't have done it."

  
"It's alright." Makoto said. "I understand."

  
She outstretched her arm holding the paper, directed at the tall brunette. "I-I colored this for you!" Both Makoto and Seijuurou blinked, and the swimmer smiled and took the paper. "And...big brother said you had siblings too, yes?"

  
"Yes, twins." Her eyes widened. "Their names are Ren and Ran. Would you like to meet them sometime? Like a playdate?"

"Yeah, they can be on a playdate and we can be on a date-date." Seijuurou hooked his arm with Makoto's. "How about it, sis?"

Mei gave a smile and nodded. "Mmm! Yes!"

  
"I'll tell them when I get back, they'll be really excited!" Makoto crouched down (pulling Seijuurou down with him), to see Mei at her eye level. "It was very nice meeting you, Mei."

  
The small girl nodded, stepping forward to wrap her arms around Makoto for a quick hug, and dashed down the hall in an instant. The couple looked at each other, silent for a moment, before letting out small giggles.

  
"C'mon, let's get you home."

  
"Wait." Makoto unfolded the paper, smiling immediately when seeing the crayon drawing. He was used to Ren and Ran's art, so it was easy to distinguish the tall figure with red hair as Seijuurou, and the slightly shorter one with brown hair as himself, with cat scribbles surrounding the two.

  
"I...might have told her that you like cats." Seijuurou laughed. "Guess she remembered."

  
"I love it." The brunette smiled, folding the paper back up neatly, reaching his hands up to pull down on Seijuurou's jacket to press their lips together. "And I love you, and your family."

  
"I could say the exact same thing, Mako."


	13. Chapter 13

With only having a few minutes left until practice was officially over, the redhead patiently waited for the other swimmers to be done with the rest of their scheduled practice. Seijuurou sat outside, fingers trailing through the pool water, listening to the commotion inside the club room as the Iwatobi team got dried off and changed. Gou crouched down next to him, watching with careful eyes as Seijuurou thought to himself, about how he was going to approach Makoto with telling the truth.

  
_Being direct is the best way. You just need to keep calm, speak clearly, don't-_

  
"Everything okay, Seijuurou?" She asked, turning her head to the side.

  
"...Not really." He sighed, taking his hand out of the water and flicking the droplets from his fingers back in the pool. "Could be better. But...yeah. Not that okay."

  
"Do you want to talk about it?" By the way Seijuurou turned his head and stared at the manager with dark golden eyes, she found her answer. "...Sorry, I'll leave it alone."

  
She got up, smoothing out her skirt as the door opened and the four swimmers stepped out. Seijuurou got up as well, smiling slightly as Makoto came towards him with his bag slung over his shoulder, and falling once he saw Haruka close behind the tall brunette. Nagisa and Rei said their goodbyes quickly, saying that they had to hurry to not be late for the movie that they were seeing.

  
"You ready to go?" Makoto asked, loosely lacing his fingers with Seijuurou's, and the redhead only nodded.

* * *

  
The walk from the pool to Makoto's was absolutely agonizing for Seijuurou.

  
It didn't help that Haruka was also there, standing on Makoto's other side, eyeing Seijuurou every so often which made the redhead extremely nervous to say the least. Oh god he probably knows I fucked up, Seijuurou thought, feeling those blue eyes staring holes into him. He knows, he probably wants to wait until Makoto is away only for a few moments because a cat caught his attention before he- Seijuurou felt Makoto squeeze his hand, glancing over at the brunette who just smiled at him.

  
Upon parting ways with Haruka at his home, greeting Tama along with the other cats for a quick minute to let the friends say their goodbyes until tomorrow, and entering the Tachibana residence moments later and taking off their shoes, Ren and Ran came running towards them with open arms.

  
"Shiba! You came to play!" Ren cheered, tugging on Seijuurou's arm while Ran pulled on her older brother. "We missed you!"

  
"Can you give us back rides again? Please?" Ran asked, hopping up and down. "I won't pull your hair this time or fall! Promise!"

  
"Actually...I came because I really needed to talk to your big brother." Seijuurou glanced over to Makoto, while the twins groaned and detached themselves from the redhead. "But...we could play later, if you want?"

  
"It's fine with me." The oldest of the Tachibana siblings smiled. "But why don't you two go see if you can help mom for a little while?"

  
"Alright!" The twins ran off down the hall, and Makoto took Seijuurou's hand in his, leading him to his bedroom.

  
While Makoto put his school bag and other things away, Seijuurou sat on the edge of the bed. For a moment he watched Makoto move back and forth to place his things in the correct places, his vision then getting caught on the plush narwhal that Makoto had gotten when he had bought his orca as a going away/welcome to college present. He reached over, gently grabbing it and pulling it over, resting it in his lap. Seijuurou's heart beat firmly against his chest, biting his lip and letting his fingers play with the small plush horn, trying to think yet again with how to break the news to Makoto the best he could. Soon Makoto sat down next to Seijuurou, exhaling and putting his hand on the redhead's knee.

  
"Well?" Makoto asked, looking up slightly to make eye contact. "You said you needed to talk?"

  
"I...do, yeah."

  
_This is it. He'll either understand, or..._

  
"And?" Seijuurou looked away, and Makoto frowned. "Hey...look at me, please?"

  
Seijuurou took a deep breath, shaking his head, taking Makoto's hands and put them on the plush narwhal with his, squeezing them. "I'm...I'm going to tell you something, but...please, Makoto." He paused, looking into concerned green eyes. "Please, don't...don't hate me, okay? I've been thinking about it all day and I feel so...so awful that it happened."

  
"Sei, that's just crazy...what is it? You said you wouldn't be here for another few days and, well, you look like...this, so obviously it's important. And you said that it's important, and I believe you." Makoto freed one of his hands to run it through Seijuurou's hair, pushing it back out of his face. "Tell me? Please?"

  
_Now or never, Mikoshiba._

  
"I love you, right? You know I do." Seijuurou glanced up, staring at the brunette. "I love you more than anything else, Makoto. And you know I would never, never intentionally try to hurt you."  
Makoto smiled, moving his thumb against Seijuurou's knuckle. "Of course I know. And I love you, too."

  
"And I know this is going to make you upset, but...I'd rather tell you than let it sit in the back of my mind and make me feel worse for not telling you." He bit his lip, sighing. "You...know last night? I went to that party, right?" Seijuurou waited for Makoto to nod. "And...god, the reason you pulled away when you kissed me awhile ago is because of my own stupid ability to not say no...I should have just stopped at the first drink, but I didn't, and I'm so goddamn sorry, if I could go back and stop myself I would-"

  
_Calm down. Breathe._

  
"Hey..." Makoto's voice was quiet, removing his hands and cupping Seijuurou's face. "Seijuurou, what happened?"

  
_I'm sorry._

  
"There...was this guy, and fuck, I'm sorry, I didn't know what I was doing, I thought he was you, I...I swore that he was you because he looked like you-"

  
Makoto frowned, knitting his brows together slightly, confused. "What? Sei-"

  
_Please don't make that face, please-_

  
"I was drunk, kissed another guy that I thought was you, and by the looks of when I woke up, I...I had sex with him, and _christ,_ Mako, I didn't mean it, I swear-" The redhead took yet another deep breath and shook his head. "I-I'm so sorry, you have no idea how goddamn sorry I am. As soon as I woke up, I had to leave, I had to tell you what happened and I couldn't just let this go or lie to you because I promised I wouldn't _ever_ lie to you-"

  
_I'm so goddamn sorry._

  
"It was a mistake, the biggest mistake I could ever make, and you have no idea how terrible I feel about it."

  
Makoto didn't say anything, just continued to look at Seijuurou with a blank look on his face.

  
"I feel awful, I look awful, your friends are going to hate me, and you...you hate me too, don't you?" He pinched the bridge of his nose. "If I could, I would have never went, I would have left if I knew that would have happened, I told you I would have rather been back here with you and your friends."

  
_Please, say something, anything, Makoto._

  
"So...you were drunk?" Makoto asked, and Seijuurou nodded.

  
"I was, and I was so, so stupid, Makoto, I should have known better, I should have left-"

  
"...and you thought it was me?" Another nod with an exasperated sigh.

  
"Makoto, I love you so damn much, I would never do anything to hurt you and you know that." Seijuurou bit his lip, squeezing Makoto's shoulders. He didn't speak. "Please, Makoto, I-"

  
Makoto sighed again, looking down at his hands. "...do you want to take a shower?"

  
"What? Makoto, I-" Seijuurou paused once he saw the pained expression on Makoto's face, glancing at his clenched hands on the plush narwhal. "...yeah. Yeah, okay."

  
"You know where the towels and things are. Go right on ahead."

  
"But...we are going to talk about this, right?"

  
"...yeah."

  
Seijuurou didn't get up for a moment, Makoto not showing any signs of moving (or speaking) either, just staring down at his hands clenching in the light blue material. He moved his hand, taking a deep, shaking breath as he tilted Makoto's head up, eyes meeting with watering emeralds and pressed their lips together, lasting seconds, before letting his hands drop back down in his lap, and getting up from the bed and heading towards the bathroom. Seijuurou shut the bedroom door behind him, resting his back against it, eyes closing as he heard muffled sniffles coming from inside the room.

  
_I'm so goddamn sorry, Makoto._

* * *

  
Fresh out of the shower and into some spare clothes set out by Makoto, Seijuurou sat on the couch in the living room with a twin on each side of him. Makoto was busy in the kitchen helping his mother make dinner, and Seijuurou agreed to keep an eye on Ren and Ran. There wasn't much else said between the two swimmers, just exchanged slight glances as Seijuurou came downstairs.

  
"Shiba? Why do you look so sad?" Ran asked, moving her hair from her face when she tilted her head to the side. "You look the same like when you got here. Only you smell better."

  
"That's because I showered." Seijuurou ran a hand through his slightly damp hair, flicking a few droplets at the small girl who smiled.

  
"Is college that hard? Is it making you sad?" Ren added. "You're always so happy when we see you!"

  
Seijuurou gave a small smile at the children's interest, sighing. "Do you really want to know?" The twins nodded, scooting closer to the redhead. "Well...I did something that was really wrong and I told your brother because I had to and it made him upset, too. At least, I'm pretty sure it did, because he isn't...exactly talking to me about it."

  
"Are you going to break up with big brother, Shiba?!" Ren covered his mouth, eyes wide just like his sister's.

  
The freshman shook his head. "No...but he might want to break up with _me_ , though."

  
"But then that means we won't get to see and play with you anymore! Or get to play with MeiMei!" Ran pouted, tugging on Seijuurou's shirt. "You two can't!"

  
"I'm going to tell you two something really important, okay? It'll be just between us." Seijuurou put a hand on their shoulders, smiling down at them. "But no matter what I did, or if he ever gets mad or disappointed at me, I'll always love and want to take care of your brother, okay? Until...until he doesn't want me around anymore, but I'll always love him."

  
Ren and Ran just smiled, nodding at the redhead.

  
"Hopefully everything works out..." Seijuurou sighed, leaning back into the cushions. "Or at least soon he'll want to talk, but I'm not going to push him."

  
"Ah, but I know what'll make Mako feel better, Shiba!" Ran motioned for Seijuurou to lean his head down so that she could whisper in his ear. "Big brother likes extra chocolate in his hot chocolate and milk in it instead of water! If you make some for him he might forgive you!"

  
"Really?"

  
"We like it, too." Ren grinned, making Seijuurou roll his eyes with a smile.

  
"Maybe after dinner, alright? Ask your parents if you can have some first."

  
There was a soft knock against the wall, and Makoto peeked his head into the living room, seeming almost...normal, like Seijuurou's confession never happened. Seijuurou's heart sped up at seeing the brunette, just like when his crush on the swimmer just began.

  
"Dinner's ready, you three. Come on before it gets cold."

  
For a moment green eyes met gold, and Seijuurou swallowed as the twins pulled him to his feet and to the kitchen. He smiled back at Tatsuya and Asako, greeting them and sitting down in his place (which was right between Makoto and Ran), hearing Ren whisper something to his older brother.

  
"Shiba really loves you, big brother! And he's really sad! Give him a hug!"

  
Seijuurou never got that hug.

* * *

  
After dinner and helping with dishes, chatting with Asako and Tatsuya in the meantime, and with getting the twins baths done and a bit of homework finished, Seijuurou and Makoto settled in bed. Seijuurou took his usual place, back to the wall, and with Makoto's back to him. He draped the heavy comforter on top of them, hesitating to pull Makoto close to him, like he usually would.

  
"Makoto..." Seijuurou wrapped his arms around Makoto's waist, nuzzling the back of his neck. "Are you mad at me?"

  
"I'm...not mad." Makoto spoke, voice hushed. "You told the truth, right? So that's the truth. Why would I be mad? It's not like you would lie to me. It's fine."

  
_You hesitated._

  
"But you're upset?"

  
"Sei...can we just go to sleep now?" The brunette asked, sighing. "It's been a long day, and I have lots to do at school tomorrow. I don't want to talk about this right now..."

  
_I'm sorry. You have no idea how sorry I am, I'll apologize for the rest of my life if I have to-_

  
Seijuurou frowned, pressing a kiss to the back of Makoto's neck. "Okay...yeah, okay. You're right. We'll talk about this later." He shifted, closing his eyes. "I love you, Makoto."

  
The two were silent, for what seemed like ages, before Makoto spoke.

  
"...I know. I know you do, Seijuurou."

  
Seijuurou only tried to ignore how Makoto's voice cracked.


	14. First Time (M)

_[Samezuka Academy, after graduation]_

  
After seeing his family and friends after the ceremony, with lots of hugs, kisses and congratulations, Makoto went back with Seijuurou to his dorm once the festivities at Samezuka had died down. It was quite the turnout, a milestone in his life that he would remember thanks to the massive support from his loved ones and teammates.

  
"I'm really proud of you." Makoto said, smiling as Seijuurou squeezed his hand as they walked down the hall. "I'm glad your mom took lots of pictures, you look really handsome."

  
"Me too, I was probably smiling like an idiot the entire time though. And no, you're the handsome one." Seijuurou stuck his lips out. "My whole family could agree with me on this one and the swim team, with you in that sweater. Sorry, but you're outnumbered."

  
The redhead chuckled as Makoto let out a whine (" _But you're in a tieeeee..._ " he had said) and his spare hand drifted to his pocket to get his key out to unlock his door. He stopped when he saw an envelope taped to the door, raising an eyebrow. "What's this?" Makoto rested his head on Seijuurou's shoulder, watching as his boyfriend opened the questionable envelope and flushing immediately when Seijuurou pulled out a note and a single condom.

  
"...' _Congrats and have fun, don't break him or make too much noise, Nitori and I are trying to study'_." Seijuurou read, opening his door and letting Makoto step inside first. "Rin, goddammit..."

  
"R-Rin?" The brunette sat on the bed after taking off his shoes, watching Seijuurou close the door and set the note and its questionable contents on his desk. "Are you sure it's from him?"

  
Seijuurou shrugged, loosening his tie and tossing it onto his desk. "Seems so, it is his handwriting." He sat himself next to Makoto, noticing that the younger captain was biting his lip slightly and letting his fingers rub against his slacks, picking up on the nervous habit signs he knew the brunette had. "Hey...it's okay. We don't have to if you don't want to. Rin's just being Rin."

  
"That's the thing..." Makoto looked over at Seijuurou, cheeks becoming warmer. "...I-I want to. I mean, isn't it the perfect night to do it?"

* * *

  
_Makoto and Seijuurou had gotten 'the talk' both from their parents months after their relationship began._

  
_The two had already done things aside from the general kissing and hand-holding as their time together progressed in the privacy of Makoto's bedroom and Seijuurou's dorm (and then once when Seijuurou joined Makoto in the shower, much to the brunette's surprise and loud screech), but weren't that comfortable with going all the way as of yet. And both of them respected that._   
_Their parents had secretly arranged to talk to their sons the same evening (and when Seijuurou was home), with the same points to discuss. The Tachibanas invited the Mikoshibas over for tea and snacks, and to get to know their sons' boyfriends' parents better. And also, knowing that their sons were beginning to get sexually active and wanted to make sure that when they had sex, they would be safe._

  
_"We aren't pushing you two to do anything, but..." Asako said, face almost as red as Makoto's. "...we just want to know that when you two decide to go with the next step-"_

  
_"You'll be safe and wear a condom." Koji finished, and the other parents nodded. "I know it's...different because you two are both young men, but it's better to be safe than sorry with STI's and such."_

  
_Seijuurou squeezed Makoto's hand as the two blinked at their parents, listening to them take turns speaking about sex and being respectful towards each other while doing so._

  
_"And son, we've heard you, ah..." Tatsuya cleared his throat. "...you and Seijuurou, up in your room sometimes."_

  
_"Oh god." Makoto mumbled, face bright red and sinking back down in the couch cushions. "Y-you have?"_

_'Thank god for my dorm', Seijuurou thought. 'But we did get that complaint from Rin that one time...'_

  
_"Now, if you two need any condoms or lubricant, don't ever hesitate to ask any of us! We'll be glad to help you two."_

  
_"M-mom!"_

  
_Makoto just hid his face in Seijuurou's shoulder as their parents continued to speak, making sure to cover all of the bases._

* * *

  
"You sure?" Seijuurou inched closer to Makoto, resting his hand on top of his boyfriends. "I mean, just because Matsuoka put a rubber on the door, and it's not like I don't have my own, we can just...do something else like we planned-"

  
Makoto just let out a nervous laugh as their noses brushed together, feeling Seijuurou's breath against his skin as their mouths inched closer.

  
"I'm sure. The movie can wait, right?"

  
The brunette pressed their lips together, both boys letting their eyes drift shut. A moan escaped from Makoto's throat as Seijuurou licked at his bottom lip, opening his mouth and accepting the warm and slick organ, moving his own against it. The oldest deepened the kiss, pulling Makoto closer and letting his hands trail across his long legs, knee to inner thigh, squeezing when Makoto bit at his lip and resumed to deeply kiss him. Seijuurou pulled away slightly, placing a kiss against the corner of his mouth, then down to his jaw, taking his time before attaching his lips to the most sensitive spot that was on his boyfriend's neck, smiling at how Makoto's hands immediately gripped at his shirt.

  
"S-Sei-" Makoto gasped, feeling teeth bite at his skin and then lips immediately kiss at the spot, sucking hard. " _Oh god-_!"

  
"Clothes off? Would that be easier?" Seijuurou asked against Makoto's neck, fingers lingering at the hem of Makoto's sweater. He eagerly nodded, and Seijuurou lifted the fabric over the younger's head and tossed it to the floor, along with quickly unbuttoning his own shirt and letting it join the sweater, their bare chests brushing against each other. His hand rested on Makoto's knee, trailing it up to his thigh and stopping once his fingers reached the bulge under the dark pants. "...Can I?"

  
Makoto nodded, feeling his body tremble as Seijuurou's hands went to unbutton and unzip his pants, helping kick them off and join with the other clothing on the floor. The oldest connected their lips again, gently pushing Makoto back against his pillows, slipping out of his own pants as well, kicking them off. Doing this many times before, Seijuurou knew where exactly to kiss and touch Makoto to make the younger melt. Seijuurou nipped at Makoto's earlobe, earning another soft gasp, tilting his head to the side and mindlessly parted his legs, allowing Seijuurou to get closer.

  
"You're really hard, Mako..." Seijuurou placed a trail of light kisses behind Makoto's ear, feeling the mentioned-hardness of his boyfriend's erection against his own. "Already?"

  
"How can I not be?" Makoto's face was bright red, breathing heavily. "You're just so...a-ahn!" He gasped when Seijuurou rocked their hips together.

  
Seijuurou just chuckled, resting his forehead against Makoto's to stare into half-lidded emeralds. "That _is_ true..." He closed his eyes, kissing the youngest again. Seijuurou felt Makoto smile against his lips, bringing his arms up to rest on his shoulders and his fingers to run through slicked-back hair.

  
The brunette hummed happily against Seijuurou's parted mouth that turned into a low whine, bucking his hips as his boyfriend had sneaked a hand past the elastic of his boxers, wrapping his fingers around his length and pumping slowly all while remaining lip-locked with the younger captain. Flicking his thumb over the head Makoto's thighs twitched, more moans spilling from his lips and let his hands tug on Seijuurou's hair.

  
"Hey, Makoto..." Seijuurou pulled away, uncurling his hand from Makoto's erection and out of his boxers to rest once again on his thigh. "Stay right here, and you should take these off." He winked, snapping the elastic and got up from the bed, stepping over to his desk and opening a drawer.

  
"O-okay..." Makoto removed the last piece of clothing he was wearing and tossed it to join his other items on the floor, watching Seijuurou turn back around with a condom and lube in hand, flushing when he saw Seijuurou's eyes wandering across his naked body. "But isn't it only fair you take yours off, too?"

  
Seijuurou laughed, using a single finger to pull his own boxers down lower than his lips and let them fall down his legs and onto the floor, striding back to the bed and placing the items near the end of the mattress where he rested himself on his knees, between Makoto's legs.

  
"Fair is fair, sweetheart." He leaned over and pressed their lips together again, flicking the bottle of lube open with his thumb and squeezed a decent amount on his index and middle finger, pausing to look up at Makoto, who was looking back with wide green eyes. "...you ready?"

  
Makoto nodded, allowing Seijuurou to part his legs slightly wider, tensing once he felt a cold, wet finger rub itself against his entrance. Seijuurou placed his other hand on Makoto's abdomen, rubbing comforting circles as he pressed it inside, heart pounding once whines started spilling from his boyfriend's lips and green eyes clenched shut.

  
"It's alright, Makoto..." He said, voice quiet and shifting his gaze from his hand to Makoto's face. "I'm not going to hurt you, okay?"

  
"I-I know..." Makoto bit his lip, adjusting his hips. "Just...it's..."

  
"Uncomfortable?" A nod. "Well, hopefully, I'll find the right thing to make it better..." Seijuurou placed a kiss to the younger's knee, twisting his wrist and finger going knuckle-deep and curling it slightly. "...do you think you're ready for another?"

  
With a quiet gasp and quick nod, Seijuurou carefully slid in a second finger, scissoring his fingers apart to stretch him further. Makoto bit his lip and threw his head back against the pillow to try to stop the groan from escaping his throat, clenching the sheets with his hands as Seijuurou pushed in slightly deeper.

  
"I'm sorry, you're still really tight-" Seijuurou started, lips pressed to a line as he focused on his prepwork. "I think...a third?"

  
"T-three?" He heard the bottle of lube being opened again, with Seijuurou coating his ring finger with the clear substance and adding a bit more to his two other fingers, and feeling the third digit slowly press inside. " _Oh_ ~..."

  
"Better? You need to relax, sweetheart..." Seijuurou slid his hand upwards to Makoto's chest, fingers splaying over tanned skin and squeezing an erect nub between his fingers, making the brunette cry out and arch slightly. "I can feel you getting only slightly looser, but...I want to make sure that you'll be okay." Makoto slightly smiled, opening his mouth to respond but instead fisted the sheets tighter, arching his back and let out a sharp moan, eyes wide.

  
"Found it." Seijuurou shifted, the tips of his index and middle finger rubbing against Makoto's prostate, finally, with ease. "Now does it feel better?"

  
Biting his lip and with trembling legs Makoto nodded, pushing himself back onto the fingers stretching him open. The brunette could only whimper, finding it difficult to keep his legs still open in place, finding them brushing against Seijuurou's sides every few seconds.

  
"Makoto." He brought his head up, looking at the redhead between his legs who was staring right back at him, and motioned his head down at the condom next to his foot. "Yeah?"

  
"Y-yeah."

  
Seijuurou slowly pulled his fingers out of Makoto, wiping them on his sheets (making the mental note to do laundry in the morning), grasping the foil packet and tearing it open. He could feel Makoto's bright green eyes looking at him, watching as he rolled the slicked laytex onto his erection, and adding just a bit more lube to be on the safe side. Aligning himself with Makoto's stretched hole, Seijuurou leaned over the brunette, one hand holding himself up while the other laced itself with Makoto's, he shifted his hips and felt the tip of his length push inside, letting out a shaky breath.

  
"Ready?" Seijuurou felt Makoto squeeze his hand and long legs wrap around his waist, and a quiet voice that made his heart ache.

  
_"I love you."_

  
"I love you more, Makoto."

  
The oldest pressed their lips together as he pushed himself inside with a grunt, swallowing every single moan that came from the brunette, keeping their fingers intertwined. Seijuurou moved his head away, golden eyes dilated and looking Makoto over; face flushed, eyes struggling to stay open, sweaty strands of hair sticking to his face, and his spare hand twisted in the sheets.

  
"You're beautiful." Seijuurou whispered, pushing himself in deeper. He leaned back down, keeping a steady rhythm going, bringing his lips to place kisses onto Makoto's outstretched neck, adding more marks to the ones already starting to bruise. "My Makoto, so gorgeous..."

  
Makoto's only response was to cry out again, the sensation of Seijuurou sucking at the spot the redhead knew was sensitive all while he was being filled almost too much for the youngest to handle and keep his composure. His own erection strained between their bodies, whimpering when Seijuurou's stomach brushed against it when he pushed forward.

  
"S-sei~!" Makoto squeezed the redhead's hand again, gasping and bucking his hips at the jolts of pleasure shooting through his spine. "T-t-there!"

  
Seijuurou shifted, thrusting in deeper and faster into the brunette's welcoming body, his spare hand moving from the sheets to wrap itself around Makoto's member and feeling the pre-come that had been slowly dripping out. Makoto wrapped his legs around Seijuurou's waist tighter, eyes rolling shut, biting his lip when trying to contain his moans and sharp cries.

  
"I-I'm gonna... _Sei_ -!"

  
The redhead detached himself from Makoto's neck, crashing their lips together. The brunette's eyes were clenched shut, toes curling as he came into Seijuurou's hand with a loud cry against his mouth, squeezing Seijuurou's hand as hard as he could. He heard Seijuurou's breathing become erratic above his own, his thrusts becoming sloppier, and with a final groan, he buried himself as deep as he could within the younger captain, slowly milking out his own orgasm.

  
Bringing their intertwined hands up, Seijuurou kissed Makoto's hand before unlacing their fingers, resting his arm back down against his stomach. He pulled out, sitting back on his legs for a moment to watch Makoto breathing, green eyes drooping shut as his chest rose and fell. Seijuurou tied the used condom and disposed of it in the wastebasket, snagging a few tissues as well to clean off his hand and the remaining come from Makoto's now-flaccid penis, throwing those away as well. He climbed back into his bunk, wrapping his arms around Makoto's waist, both swimmers on their sides.

  
"I love you." Seijuurou said, placing kisses on the brunette's face, heart still beating against his chest. "You okay?"

  
Makoto nodded, smile on his face and pecking the corner of Seijuurou's mouth lazily. "I love you too, Sei."

  
"Tired?"

  
"Yeah..." Makoto nuzzled his head into Seijuurou's shoulder, letting out a content sigh as he felt Seijuurou run his fingers through his slightly damp hair.

  
"I hope I didn't make you too sore, sweetheart..." Seijuurou kissed the top of Makoto's head, bringing the blanket from the foot of the bed over them both. His answer was a soft and tired-sounding laugh from Makoto, muffled by his shoulder.

  
Seijuurou smiled, closing his eyes and kissed the side of Makoto's head, hearing Makoto's soft breathing and knowing that the younger boy was sound asleep.

* * *

  
The next morning, Seijuurou woke up with a yawn, eyes slowly opening to be greeted with Makoto's smiling face.

  
"Good morning." Makoto said, kissing Seijuurou's cheek.

  
"Good morning to you, too." Seijuurou laughed as Makoto pushed his hair out of his face, large hands resting on his face as Makoto pressed closer to kiss the redhead. "How's your...ah..."

  
Makoto's face flushed as Seijuurou let a hand drift down to his ass, squeezing. "F-fine, I think? Not as sore as I imagined it would be..."

  
"I'm glad you're okay."

  
The brunette smiled, letting their foreheads press together, staring into kind gold. "I'm glad I'm with _you."_


	15. Chapter 15

The morning after Seijuurou's confession, he and Makoto briefly talked about it. They had woken up earlier than usual, hoping that a night of sleep would have been all that Makoto needed to talk to him about it. By the time Seijuurou had woken up, Makoto was already awake reading through one of his textbooks, almost as if he hadn't slept at all.

  
"Makoto, listen-

  
"I told you I'm not mad. You said you're sorry, and that it didn't mean anything." Makoto shrugged, avoiding eye contact and shutting his book. "It's fine. I'm fine. We're fine."

  
"Are you sure though?"

  
"...Positive."

  
_Something tells me he's not, but..._

  
"Alright. I trust you."

  
_I trust you, because I love you._

  
Seijuurou kissed Makoto, feeling slightly relieved when he felt Makoto kiss back.

  
The two got ready for their day, showers and breakfast and helping the twins, and Seijuurou ended up walking Makoto (and Haruka) to school before leaving back to Kyoto, the topic being almost completely forgotten with getting it off his chest and having told Makoto. They had found something else to discuss on the way there, about the stray cats and Tama, and Makoto had even let Seijuurou hold his hand during the walk, and an added goodbye kiss. After, Seijuurou texted Aikawa that he was on his way back, heading to the station to wait for the next train.

  
Have a good day, Mako. Seijuurou had sent Makoto, staring at the picture of Makoto and Tama on his phone. I love you, see you next weekend?

* * *

  
A few days had passed since the incident and Seijuurou was feeling fine. Almost better than fine, even.

  
After having talked about it with Makoto, everything seeming perfectly normal and getting back into the swing of his classes and made sure to help Makoto with last-minute studying before his tests really put his mind off of things. However the redhead was a bit disappointed when Makoto had said that he couldn't see Seijuurou for the upcoming weekend, with being busy with club activities. He had a feeling that he knew Makoto was stil upset, recalling how the brunette looked like when he confessed and how Seijuurou knew that Makoto cried when he left the room, but pushed it to the back of his mind. Because if Makoto said that he was fine, that meant he was fine...right? Seijuurou wasn't going to push Makoto to talk about it. And things could have been worse. They were still talking, slightly off-feeling from the normal conversations went, but still receiving the 'good morning' and 'good night' texts and random messages through the day made Seijuurou hopeful that Makoto really had forgiven him.

  
There was one encounter he handled well, in his own perspective. While walking back from his afternoon classes back to his room, he stopped once he heard someone calling for him, a voice that he didn't know who it belonged to. Seijuurou turned around, eyes widening when he saw the non-Makoto waving and smiling at him, walking on over towards him.

  
_"Hey, I haven't seen you since that party!" He smiled, brushing his bangs aside. "I could've sworn I gave you my number, but oh well. I can't believe I ran into you so casually like this! Well, I know since we go to the same school and all, but..."_

  
_"Ah, listen..." Seijuurou sighed. "That night, I'm not so sure about you, or how much you had to drink, but I was completely out of it and I actually thought that you were...y'know, my boyfriend because you look so much like him, so..."_

  
_"Oh! No problem, I'm sorry!" He gave out a nervous laugh, scratching the back of his neck. "I don't know whether to be flattered by the fact that you mistook me for your boyfriend, but no hard feelings? Maybe we could be friends?"_

  
_Seijuurou shook his head, adjusting the strap of his bag. "I'm...not so sure that would be a good idea. Sorry." And with more apologies, they parted and that was the end of that._

  
Days after that, while Seijuurou was studying one early evening, he was concerned when he received a...very questionable text from Rin. He hadn't heard from him in awhile, knowing he was busy with school like everyone else, but it was unusual for him to text him out of the blue with a vague, seemingly-threatening message.

  
_'GO TO THE PARK NEAR YOUR DORMS, ASSHOLE.'_

  
He sighed, shutting his phone and placing it on his desk, closing his textbook (while marking his place) and grabbing his jacket. Seijuurou glanced over at Aikawa who had his nose in his art book.

  
"I'll be back soon, okay? A friend of mine wants to meet up."

  
The other boy just hummed in understanding, turning the page and waving him off. The park that Rin mentioned wasn't all that far away, just by a few minutes, the same one where himself and Makoto had been to several times when the two took evening walks under the streetlights. Multiple thoughts ran though Seijuurou's mind, not exactly sure what Rin could want, but judging by the text being in all capital letters and an insult, it might not end well in his favor. Seijuurou spotted Rin immediately, leaning against a tree in his Samezuka jacket. He was talking to someone, and his golden eyes widened when he saw no one other than Haruka in his Iwatobi jacket, not looking pleased in one bit. Once Rin had noticed Seijuurou walking over, his red eyes narrowed and stormed right over, pulling his arm back with one swift motion and punching Seijuurou right in the jaw, making the oldest stumble backwards and onto the ground.

  
"Matsuoka what the hell-?!" Seijuurou shouted, bringing a hand to his aching jaw and keeping his distance from the fuming swimmer. "Why'd you punch me, I came like you said!"

  
"The FUCK is wrong with you!" His voice was low, hands clenching into fists as if he would hit Seijuurou again. "How DARE you make him upset, you-!"

  
"Rin, please." Haruka put a hand on Rin's shoulder, pushing him aside and stepping in front of Seijuurou, staring at the redhead before raising his own fist, but being stopped by Rin grabbing his wrist. "Rin."

  
"One's good enough, Haru. And he'll be feeling that for days." He rolled his eyes, dropping Haruka's arm and exhaled. "But, back to the point. What the _hell_ were you thinking?"

  
"What do you mean...?" Seijuurou winced, touching the already-forming bruise on his skin.

  
"We know what you did, Seijuurou. The party. The guy." Haruka sat down on a bench, Rin following suit. "Don't even try to avoid that. I knew something was up when you came that day and looked like hell, and how Makoto's been acting lately proves it."

  
Seijuurou's stomach dropped, looking up at the two sitting in front of him. "...You do?"

  
Haruka sighed, folding his arms across his chest. "He's really upset, you know."

  
"You don't understand, we...we talked about it, Makoto said he was fine!" Seijuurou took a deep breath, biting the inside of his cheek. "Sure, I know that he was upset from when I told him, but...he told me he was alright, and that everything was okay! Why would you say that he's upset?"

  
"Damn, Makoto's a better liar than I thought. I didn't even know that he kept anything from anybody. Or that you're just incredibly stupid, or too nice and ignorant. But you get points for being honest with Mako." Rin glanced over at Haruka, shrugging. "Then you should tell 'em what you told me, Haru. Looks like he's being kept out, and that's never good."

  
"Listen, Seijuurou...and this happened yesterday, keep that in mind."

* * *

  
_"Ah, Haruka dear, it's so nice to see you." Asako smiled at the swimmer, letting him inside. "Makoto's upstairs in his room, he went right up there after practice."_

  
_Haruka nodded, removing his shoes and heading to Makoto's room. He and the rest of the team were concerned about Makoto's sudden odd behavior. The seemingly-fake smiles, how he looked distant during class, and the dead giveaway was avoiding all questions involving Seijuurou, going off to another subject. Makoto had left practice early, and had been for the last few days, saying something about how he needed to finish an assignment that was due in the morning, and Haruka knew that something was troubling the brunette._

  
_"Makoto? It's Haru." The black-haired boy knocked before opening the bedroom door, blue eyes landing to Makoto, who was clutching his plush narwhal in his arms, shoulders heaving as he cried into the material. "Makoto-"_

  
_"A-ah, Haru, sorry, I just...I couldn't get my contacts out and poked myself in the eye, that's all." Makoto rubbed his eyes, trying to put on a smile for his best friend. "Nothing to worry about, I'm fine."_

  
_"You're lying." Haruka shut the door, crossing his arms and staring at Makoto. "Ever since Seijuurou stopped by days ago, you've been acting weird."_

  
_"Haru, nothing is wrong, I'm fine-"_

  
_"Tell me."_

  
_Knowing that he was trapped and Haruka wouldn't leave until he was satisfied with the truth, Makoto frowned, watching as Haruka sat down on the foot of his bed. Haruka patiently waited for Makoto to answer, staring at the brunette who was hesitating to answer and thinking of the right way to word things._

  
_"...Sei slept with another guy, Haru."_

  
_Haruka raised an eyebrow. "...what? He wouldn't."_

  
_"When he came by the other day. He told me that at the party he went to he had too much to drink, and slept with someone that he thought was me." Makoto paused, and Haruka knew that he was trying his best not to cry again. "...and he seemed really torn up about it and kept on apologizing and that he was sorry and he didn't mean to do it, but Haru, I..."_

  
_"Makoto..."_

  
_"He...really broke my heart, Haru." Makoto rubbed his face against the narwhal plush, inhaling Seijuurou's cologne that lingered on it. "I know he's sorry and I want to tell him how I really feel, but I don't know if I can, I don't know if I can even see him right now..."_

  
_"You told him you were upset though, right?"_

  
_"...no. No I didn't." Makoto paused. "And that's what scares me the most. Because I can't seem to just...tell him how I really feel about this."_

  
_And Makoto let everything out, telling Haruka every single thing that was on his mind and has been on his mind for days._  
\---  
Seijuurou's eyes were wide as Haruka told him what Makoto had told him.

  
"...and that's that." Haruka shrugged. "Like I said, yesterday. And if you came by days ago, that means he's been upset since that day."

  
"That's...why he said he couldn't see me this weekend, saying that he was busy with club stuff?" Seijuurou looked down at his shoes. "Because he doesn't even want to see me?"

  
"Seijuurou, we don't have any club meetings at all this weekend. Not for awhile, actually."

  
The redhead felt like hands were closing themselves around his throat.

  
"'Doesn't want' is a bit too strong, more like 'can't because there's a lot going on' in that head of his." Rin huffed. "What you did is almost a bit unforgivable, Mikoshiba. No matter how much you apologize and say you're sorry."

  
"He...he lied to me." The oldest swallowed, heart clenching. "He said he was fine, he-"

  
"He's home now though if you need to talk to him." Haruka and Rin stood up, Rin extending an arm to pull up Seijuurou from the ground. "He's watching the twins, so he could have the spare time to talk in a little while. Maybe."

  
"Definitely sounds like you two need to talk things out." Rin added. "But don't do anything stupid, Mikoshiba. You're glad we even came down here to tell you, but...we know you really love him, and he really loves you."

  
"Could've been shark bait, looks like you survived." Haruka said.

  
Seijuurou just nodded, muttering a 'thanks' before turning away from the two swimmers to walk back to his dorm, hands clenched in his pockets. The walk seemed almost endless, relaying what Haruka had told him, the fact that Makoto had gone out of his way to lie to not even him, but also his friends for this long about how he felt was beyond him. And that deep down, he was slightly furious at the brunette for lying when he came first thing to tell Makoto the truth about what he did, because of their promise.

  
He slipped back into his room, noticing that Aikawa had stepped out, leaving a note that said he went to go get something to eat for dinner which gave Seijuurou the opportunity to call and talk to Makoto with some privacy instead of having to leave somewhere or have to sit in the bathroom. Seijuurou glanced down at his phone, seeing the 'new message' light blinking. Picking it up, the new message was Rin, and a bit nicer this time.

  
_'Sorry about punching you...kind of.'_

  
_'No hard feelings. Thanks for you and Haruka to come out of your way and talk to me about this.'_

  
The redhead sighed, scrolling through more messages and thumb hovering over the call button next to Makoto's name. Should he call? Would he be too busy with the twins? Most importantly, would Makoto deny what Haruka had told him? Biting his lip and sitting down on his bed, he hit the green button, placing the phone to his ear and taking a deep breath with every ring.

  
_One._

  
_Two..._

  
_Three..._

  
_Maybe he doesn't want to talk to me after all...,_ Seijuurou thought, pinching the bridge of his nose. _He probably sees that I'm calling, and is choosing not to answer on purpose..._

  
_"Sei?"_

  
"M-Mako, hey." Seijuurou felt some weight being lifted off of his shoulders when he heard Makoto's voice on the other line, but it all went right back to his stomach. "Are...you busy? I need to talk to you about something."

  
 _"I'm just keeping an eye on Ren and Ran, but-_ " Makoto paused, pulling the phone away to say something to the twins. " _I could always go to another room if you want to talk, they've been overly loud today..."_

  
"I...Haruka and Rin came by today. Just a bit ago, actually."

  
". _..Oh_." Seijuurou heard shuffling on the other line, and the sound of a door shutting. " _Is that where he went off to today? I was wondering what happened to him since he didn't tell me. And Rin must've been a surprise."_

  
_How the hell can he seem so calm about this?_

  
"Makoto."

  
_"Yes?"_

  
"Why didn't you tell me that you were really upset? About what I did?"

  
He heard Makoto inhale, and imagining the look on the brunette's face was unbearable. ". _..So that's why he went to see you?"_

  
"I want to know why." Seijuurou clenched his sheets, taking another deep breath. "Why did you lie to me? And again, when you said you were busy this weekend?"

  
_"Sei, listen-"_

  
"No, Makoto! I don't understand!" _Keep your cool, Mikoshiba_. "I do something completely devastating for the both of us that was entirely on my actions, and what's the first thing I do? I tell YOU. I tell you, because you deserve to not be kept out and not lied to! I promised you that I would never lie, and to have you lie to me, saying that everything was fine and make up excuses to not see me?"

  
_"Sei, just stop, you don't understand-"_

  
"To have your closest friends tell me that instead of yourself? DAYS after I thought that we were fine, because you said so? Because I BELIEVED and TRUSTED that you said that you were fine-"

  
_"Because I was afraid, okay!"_

  
Seijuurou's eyes widened at Makoto's sudden outburst, heart pounding. Never had the redhead ever heard Makoto raise his voice above a disciplinary level, and needless to say it made Seijuurou want to apologize over and over immediately for his own yelling that he didn't quite mean.

  
And that yelling and demanding Makoto to talk was the wrong thing to do.

  
"M-Makoto, I'm-"

  
_"I know you're sorry, I know that! But really, Seijuurou? I didn't want to say that I was upset, because I knew that I was going to be upset for a really damn long time! It's not just every day that you're in love with the best person to ever happen to you, and everything is going wonderful, and then it all stops because of one intoxicated incident!"_

  
"Please, sweetheart, I just-"

  
_"Don't, just...don't. I thought that everything would be okay, even when this whole thing started! When I was hesitant about this relationship even continuing because you were going to be hours away, because people said that this stuff happened way more than I thought that it would, and I decided to stay positive and give it a chance and I just can't help but feel...stupid, and I don't want to be that kind of person in a relationship that is constantly worrying about their partner whenever they go out! I don't, Seijuurou!"_

  
"Makoto, you're not stupid, this is still all my-" Seijuurou tried to calm Makoto down, only wanting to hug the brunette and make him smile again, to do anything to stop this. "-this is my fault, please, we can talk this out-"

  
_I don't want to lose you._

  
_"You know what else made me upset? While I was getting your clothes to wash them, a number fell out of your pocket."_ A pause _. "No, I didn't call it. I didn't want to, if that's what you're thinking."_

"Number? What number, I swear, I don't remember any number!" Seijuurou's eyes widened, recalling his conversation with the fake Makoto, about 'swearing that he left him his number'. "Makoto, shit, that's because-"

  
 _"I tried so hard to ignore it, I really did, but just thinking about it, just..."_ Makoto took a deep breath. _"...it's hard when you keep having dreams that you'll end up leaving me for someone better, or this will happen again, Seijuurou. And it scares me, along with so many other things, and it...hurts."_

  
"Makoto, please, listen to me..." Seijuurou winced, his jaw throbbing again. "I wouldn't ever leave you, I mean it! I...I love you too much, and I want to make things right, I'll listen, I'll understand, I'm...I'm just so sorry-!"

  
_"And...you're there, and I'm...here and I'm busy, and you probably are, and maybe I just need some time to think about things. Sort out my thoughts and just...be by myself for awhile."_

  
Seijuurou's hands started to shake, wanting to not believe the words coming from Makoto. He wanted to beg, he wanted to continue to shout and plead, to make Makoto change his mind, or reassure him that everything would be fine because he just wanted Makoto, his Makoto, to be happy and smile again. And here he was, Makoto slipping right through his fingers.

  
"M-Mako-"

  
" _No...no texts, or calls, no talking, just...you by yourself, and me by myself, okay?"_

  
_Don't push him, Mikoshiba. If he wants it, let him. No matter how much it hurts._

  
"...Okay." Seijuurou answered, throat feeling dry. "Okay. Fine. I-I won't call you, or text you, for as long as you want."

  
 _"I'm s-sorry, Seijuurou._ " Makoto paused again, and Seijuurou knew that he was trying to keep himself composed. " _I...I'll call you when I know things for myself, okay? I don't know how long it'll take, but...I have to go put the twins to bed now, so..."_

  
"I lo-" The redhead bit his lip, and sighed. "I love you, so much, Makoto, please don't forget that."

  
 _"I know you do, Seijuurou. I hope you understand why I need this time to myself, I'm sorry. Goodbye._ " And with that, Seijuurou heard a quiet beep on the other line followed by the monotone dial tone of an ended call.

  
He placed his phone on his bedside table with shaking fingers, glancing up at the picture frame on his desk. Seijuurou's heart clenched, thinking back to that day, that one of many days where he and Makoto were happier than anything, and then back to the cold reality of Makoto saying that he needed some time to think, to be by himself, which in most cases, ended up with a terminated relationship.

  
And it scared him, more than he ever thought it would.

  
Being so lost in his thoughts, Seijuurou didn't turn his head when the door creaked open, signaling Aikawa was back. The boy slipped out of his shoes, raising an eyebrow and staring at the motionless redhead.

  
"...Sei? Is everything okay?"

* * *

  
Makoto made sure Ren and Ran had gotten fully ready for bed, brushed teeth and pajamas and all, tucking them into bed, acting as if the phonecall didn't phase him at all.

  
"I'm sorry I'm not up for reading you two a story tonight." Makoto apologized, faint smile on his face. "I've started to not feel so good, so I'm just going to get some water and get some rest myself. Mom and dad'll be back soon, don't worry."

  
"Good night, big brother." The two yawned, and Makoto slipped out of the room, closing the door and going to his own.

  
His phone call with Seijuurou ended moments ago, but his throat still felt as if he had been crying for hours and his hands were still shaking. Makoto knew Seijuurou wouldn't take it well. To what degree he wasn't sure of, but the tone, how he knew he felt so bad for raising his voice...he'd only seen Seijuurou truly upset on one occasion other than getting second at his first college swim meet which wasn't as bad, and even with Makoto there to make him feel better on the first occasion, that took days. He didn't expect himself or Seijuurou to yell either, but that's only natural when you keep how you truly feel from the person you love when you agreed to be honest with each other.

  
The brunette closed his own door, falling onto his bed, hands immediately reaching for the plush narwhal to rest it against his chest, just like every night when not spent with the redhead to help him sleep. He stared at it, fingers smoothing the fabric out, Seijuurou's scent almost overbearing. Makoto hugged it closer, pressing his face into the side, feeling warm tears prick at the corners of his eyes and allowed himself to cry.

  
_I'm so sorry._


	16. Sleep Loneliness

Seijuurou sighed, staring at the ceiling, cradling the orca plush in his arms. It was his first week staying in his new dorm, and sleep was only an afterthought. It was common that whenever he went to bed his mind would wander, thinking about the things he needed to do the next day or within the week, to slowly let his brain shut down and ease himself to sleep. However, the best nights where he could sleep were the ones he spent with Makoto, as he learned over the course of their relationship.

  
To have the brunette in his arms after a long day was perfection to Seijuurou. His smell was soothing, just like the cologne on the plush, and the young swimmer seemed to fit with ease against his own large body. Space was sometimes an issue, with moving during sleep and wanting to stretch out, but even waking up with Makoto's hand in his face or knee pressed against his stomach. There was the one time where it was a particularily warm evening, and Seijuurou had managed to move himself so that the first thing he saw in the morning instead of a gorgeous face, was Makoto's feet. Place didn't matter either. Whether if be in a bed, or the floor, or on acouch, as long as Makoto was near the redhead was guaranteed that he would sleep well through the night.  
Seijuurou thought back to the first time he and Makoto shared a bed together, two weeks after their first date. He didn't want to count the times he fell asleep while studying and then Makoto falling asleep himself with his head on his shoulder, and then waking up twenty minutes later when his knee collided with the table. It was Makoto's first time staying in his dorm, and even though Seijuurou had offered to sleep on the floor to let the brunette have the bed, Makoto just smiled, pulling Seijuurou down for a kiss and said that it was fine, and that there was plenty of room.

  
Typically it didn't take much for the redhead to fall asleep. If he was really, truly exhausted, it came easily. But for some reason, being in the new dorm environment made it harder for him to get to sleep, and at Samezuka he never had this problem. He tried everything, from listening to calming music to taking a warm bath before getting into bed, the warm milk trick...nothing seemed to work, and not having Makoto there when the brunette could lull him to sleep with ease really made it harder.

  
He wondererd how Aikawa could fall asleep so easily, eyes drifting to the sleeping body in the room. He's just like Mako, it doesn't take him that long to fall asleep..., Seijuurou thought, outstretching his arm to grasp at his phone. He winced, the light from the screen being blinding in the dark room, scrolling through his contacts and pressed the call button next to Makoto's name. Seijuurou turned on his side, facing the wall, plush still tucked securely under his arm as he listened to the soft rings. Seijuurou did feel bad for calling Makoto this late, knowing that he probably was sound asleep already.

  
" _MmmmSeijuurou?_ " Makoto yawned, making Seijuurou's heart swell. "I _s everything okay? It's really late..."_

  
"Sorry, did I wake you up?" He glanced over at the clock on the wall, squinting to see the illuminated numbers at a bit past one in the morning. "...Oh."

  
"I _t's okay, Se_ i." The brunette mumbled, holding back another yawn. " _Why are you awake?"_

  
"Can't sleep." Seijuurou frowned. "I've tried everything."

  
" _Again? You've been telling me how you haven't been able to sleep, I just thought that you wouldn't be up this late_." He could hear Makoto shift in his own bed, hearing the familiar creak. " _Are you sure you're alright?"_

  
"I'm fine, really. There's just...a lot on my mind? It's only my first few days here and I'm already getting no sleep like there's a big test coming up." Seijuurou gave a small laugh. "If I could sleep, I definitely would and wouldn't have called and woken you up as well."

  
_"I'm sorry, if only there was something I could do. Plus you get all grumpy and more irritable when you don't sleep well..."_

  
"I do not!" Seijuurou rolled his eyes, hearing Makoto laugh.

  
_"See? Right there, it's already started!"_

  
"Fine, I guess no kisses for when I see you next and I found a cafe here that sells the cutest doughnuts that look like cats that I guess I won't take you to..."

  
_"Cat doughnuts? I'm sorry!"_

  
"Ah, to be honest I wouldn't be able to resist kissing you the second you stepped off that train. But...there's one other thing, too..."

  
_"Yeah? What is it?"_

  
"I miss you, like...a lot. You're my big huggable orca boyfriend that I could definitely use to get some sleep right now, among other things."

  
 _"O-oh_." Seijuurou pictured the growing smile on Makoto's face. " _You still have your little friend, right?"_

  
"I have him with me now and I sleep with him every night, yeah. But it's not tall, with beautiful green eyes and soft brown hair. The smell and squishability is perfect, though." Seijuurou teased, hearing Makoto scoff on the other end. "It's kinda hard getting used to sleeping alone when I've had you to sleep with for the past few weeks since we spent almost all of our time together, y'know?"

  
" _I miss you too, I'm sorry I couldn't make it out there to be with you now, but, school and all._.." Makoto sighed. " _Can I...admit something? And it won't be weird at all?"_

  
"Go right on ahead, Mako."

  
_"No teasing!"_

  
"No teasing. I promise, sweetheart."

  
_"Well, it's just...when we get in bed, and you wrap your arms around me, I just feel so...happy. And protected. Like if something were to happen, or I had a bad dream, it wouldn't matter because I would be right there, safe in your arms and everything would be okay. And you're right, it really isn't the same when I have my plush narwhal instead of you, but then I just remember that I'll get to see you soon and I feel happy all over again."_

  
"Makoto Tachibana, you are so adorable."

  
_"I-I'm just being honest! And I'm tired because someone woke me up..."_

  
"I know, I know..." Seijuurou smiled. "But safe in my arms, eh?"

  
_"Seiiiii..."_

* * *

  
Waking up with a groan, Seijuurou raised his head, the sun from the window coming in and hitting his face. He yawned, rubbing his eyes and looked down, seeing his phone rested on his pillow. The freshman touched his face, feeling the indents from the device on his cheek, then reached down to unlock the screen and eyes widening once he saw the three-hour long call log with Makoto, hours ago.

  
_...did I fall asleep while talking to you? If so, I'm REALLY sorry._

  
He sighed, placing his phone back on his pillow, stretching his arms in the air. Aikawa was over at the kitchenette already showered and dressed, making coffee for the two and glanced over at the awakening redhead, laughing.

  
"Sure looks like you finally got some sleep." He motioned to his hair, and Seijuurou just shrugged.

  
"Yeah, but not until late, though. I think I fell asleep talking to Makoto, though..." Seijuurou got up from his bed, taking his full mug from the counter and took a sip. "I can't even remember what we were talking about, all I remember is that I called him and then boom! Out like a light sometime after, and then I woke up."

  
"I've fallen asleep during a few calls with some of my girlfriends in the past, it's fine." Aikawa waved his hand, taking the toast from the toaster. "It happens, especially when you call late and you've been getting absolute crap for sleep. And at least you don't have early morning classes like I do on most days."

  
Seijuurou snorted. "That's true. Art classes at nine in the morning? That's insane."

  
"Insane, yes. Worth it? Maybe." He looked at the clock with a sigh, placing his empty mug in the sink and taking large bites from his breakfast. "Have fun today, with your non-early, non-art classes."

  
"Oh I sure as hell will."   
  
Aikawa grabbed his backpack and books, heading out the door, leaving Seijuurou to finish his coffee and make his own breakfast before having to get ready for his own classes to get to. He heard his phone buzz, signaling that he had a new message. Seijuurou strode over, picking it up and seeing that Makoto had responded, smiling at the honest message.

  
_You fell asleep? I thought I was the one that fell asleep first... ^^;_

  
"Like I said, so adorable." Seijuurou said to himself with a grin, responding to the message.

  
_Either way, thank you, sweetheart. I slept great and I love you. Can't wait to see you in a few days._

 


	17. Chapter 17

It had been almost a week, and Makoto still hadn't called Seijuurou.

  
"I know you guys are worried about me." Makoto had said to Haruka and Rin. "And I know, you two are the only ones who know about this, aside from Aikawa...but it's something that's ultimately between Seijuurou and I."

  
"Are you sure? We'll always be here for you, Makoto." Rin put his hand on Makoto's shoulder, which made the brunette smile. "I'll punch him again if I have to. He's tough, he can take it."

  
"You really didn't have to punch him. And I appreciate that you two are looking out for me, I really do. But...like I said, when I'm ready, I'll call him. Whether it be good or bad. I can't just...let it go like this."

  
Haruka huffed, crossing his arms. "As long as he doesn't do anything stupid again."

  
Makoto looked down at his feet, frowning. "I really don't think he will, to be honest."

  
"We know he makes you happy, Makoto. And we know that you'll make the right decision."

  
Makoto was surprised that Seijuurou had listened to the brunette, and he hadn't received a single text or call no matter how badly that the redhead probably wanted to. Even though that he was the one that said that he needed the time to think, and that it 'might be best', the minute the words came out of his mouth, Makoto regretted it. He missed Seijuurou, the calls, the texts, the 'I love you's, the kisses and hugs, every happy thought plagued his mind as he settled in bed for more sleepless nights. Since Seijuurou confessed, Makoto knew he was sorry. The look in those golden eyes, the tone of his voice, apologizing over and over, but there was just something that didn't click inside Makoto that wanted to forgive him right then and there.

  
He didn't mean to raise his voice at Seijuurou, even though the redhead had the right to be irritated and angry. Makoto shouldn't have lied in the first place, feeling guilty that all while Seijuurou was honest with what he did while he wasn't the one to keep up his half of their promise. What was he so afraid of? That Seijuurou wouldn't understand why he felt the way he did? That maybe, if Makoto really said how he felt would affect Seijuurou's college friendships and would stop going to parties and gatherings because 'Mikoshiba's boyfriend says he can't go'? Instead, Makoto just kept his feelings inside and then shouted at Seijuurou and said that he needed a break, making the situation worse.

  
This could have been settled days ago, without the yelling and the lies, when Seijuurou told him what happened. They could be happily talking, flirting, making future dates, the normal things that got Makoto through each day before seeing his boyfriend and having a weekend of pure happiness. And it crushed him, because he knew he made Seijuurou possibly more upset than he made Makoto, and he may not feel the same ever again because it was taking Makoto so long to think about everything.

  
Luckily, Haruka and Rin didn't spill to Nagisa, Rei or Gou, and his parents didn't ask any further questions like why they hadn't seen Seijuurou in awhile or why their son hadn't gone to see him. And he hadn't gotten any word from the Mikoshibas, which meant that Seijuurou might have not said anything to his parents, either. The twins, however, were a different story. They asked if Makoto was okay, they asked if Seijuurou was happy, and all he could do was smile and say that he was trying to work things out. Every day that went by, Haruka would give Makoto a certain look. _Have you talked to him yet_? And every time, Makoto would just shake his head.

  
_Why not?_

  
"Because I'm not ready yet, Haru."

* * *

  
The first day, Makoto thought he was fine when doing his daily routines, and went okay without thinking of Seijuurou. He thought of other things, focusing on his schoolwork and the swim team, and even tried his hand at cooking again. His heart sank when he got one of his mother's cookbooks from the cupboard, seeing all of the sticky notes set on some of the pages with the words 'Sei might like this!' written on them. Makoto closed the large book, setting it back in its place and made his way back to his room, deciding on just studying for the rest of the evening.

The third got a bit harder, the little mementos in his room reminding him of his feelings for the older swimmer. Photos, clothes, tickets from movies, every handwritten note passed between the two, the almost empty jar of peppermint patties that needed to be refilled, and then his plush narwhal. Makoto bit his lip, thinking that he should just box everything up or hide it so he wouldn't have to look at it, but in the end, he left the items where they belonged. He didn't realize that he had so much stuff from various dates and presents from the redhead, or just things that reminded Makoto of Seijuurou that he kept. Makoto bit his lip, sighing as he looked through the various strips of photo paper from when they decided to try out a photo booth after one of their dates after a joint practice.

  
The fourth, his heart just ached.

  
A week went by, and all he wanted to do was feel complete again after a phone call from Aikawa.

  
 _"Makoto, sorry to call you out of the blue, but...it's about Sei."_ Makoto opened his mouth to speak, but Aikawa spoke up first. " _No, he didn't ask me to call. It's just a friend being concerned about another friend."_

  
"Then what about it?" Makoto put down his towel, sitting down in the club room.

  
_"You have time to talk?"_

  
"Yeah, practice just ended. I'm all ears."

  
_"Well I could always just beat around the bush, but I figure I should just come out and say it...I know you two aren't exactly on good terms, but this whole thing has really been taking a toll on Sei. I've never seen anyone act like this before, Makoto."_

  
"...what do you mean, Aikawa?" Makoto swallowed, the older boy sounding concerned and completely truthful.

  
" _Aside from the fact that he hasn't been sleeping well, much less at all, and that I have to make sure that he's been eating and getting to his classes_." He heard a sigh on the other line. " _And he's just been...staring at his phone or the picture on his desk, looking just...sad."_

  
Makoto bit the inside of his cheek, as Aikawa resumed to talk.

  
_"He really misses you, Makoto."_

  
_I really miss him too. You have no idea, Aikawa._

  
By day eight, he sat himself down to truly think about Seijuurou, and where their relationship was headed.

  
Makoto stared up at his ceiling, feeling as if there was something heavy resting on his chest. His hand was absentmindedly smoothing out the fuzz on his narwhal plush, as the brunette tried to collect his thoughts.

  
"Seijuurou is..."

  
_He's nice. Kind. Funny. Handsome. Always knows how to make people feel better. Well-aware of others. He tries his hardest to not forget important things, but when he does, he always makes up for it. His laugh is the second most wonderful thing I have ever heard right after his voice. He's willing to make compromises. He makes the best desserts I've ever had. He's great with kids. His personality is amazing. He knows when to be gentle, and when to be rough in all of the best ways. He is motivated and dedicated, and is amazing in the water. He-_

  
Makoto bit his lip. Why can I only think of positive things?

  
_Sometimes he takes too long in the shower...but that stopped, because he realized that I was shivering when I would get out._

  
_He can get a bit loud at times...but he knows to keep his voice down when we're together. With the exception being when we had swim practice together and he had a team to take care of._   
_He can get way overprotective...but the look in his eyes once he turns back to me after glaring at someone who he thought was going to 'make their move' on me...took my breath away._   
_He got drunk at a party because he couldn't say no and slept with someone...that he thought was me...yet he came straight here, first, to tell me what had happened. And that he was sorry. And that he...loved me._

  
Makoto felt tears prick the corners of his eyes, the guilt forming in his stomach.

  
_We promised, no lies. And I kept my feelings inside, that I was upset, confused, hurt, betrayed, and told him that I needed a break. He probably...thinks that I never want to see him again, because it's been this long. And with what Aikawa said..._

  
The image of Seijuurou came into Makoto's mind. Alone. Motionless on his bed, cradling the orca, hair a mess and bags under his once-brilliant now dull golden eyes, wishing for that promised phone call. There was probably even facial hair as well, the redhead not even bothering to shave because why bother when your only reason to was because the scruff tickled Makoto's sensitive skin.

  
"Seijuurou is..." Makoto tried again, trying to keep his voice steady. He glanced over at the photo of them both from when they had a date at the last festival that was had, in their yukata and smiling with their snacks in hand.

  
His breath caught in his throat, smiling at the memory that was like a catalyst for the months of shared kisses, laughs, embraces, dates, and other shared moments together, tears finally escaping and rolling down his cheeks, his heart feeling as if it would burst. He remembered what he heard from Haruka's grandmother once, the words clear in his head.

  
_Imagine your life without that person. Could you go through your life without them and still remain happy?_

  
"...Seijuurou is the best thing to ever happen to me."

  
_He's my happiness._

  
Makoto sat up in bed, wiping at the tears running down his cheeks and located his phone that was resting on his bedside table.

_He's my everything._

  
With shaking hands, he reached over to the almost entirely neglected technology, sliding it open and scrolled through his contacts list.

  
_I'm in love with Seijuurou Mikoshiba._

  
Pressing the call button, he took a deep breath, putting the phone to his ear. Aside from the rings, Makoto could hear his heartbeat in his ears as he waited for Seijuurou to answer. He expected the redhead to answer quickly, but maybe it was because Makoto took days, maybe...Seijuurou had given up that Makoto would actually call.

  
_I love you._

  
Makoto sighed, ready to hang up with the thought of Seijuurou giving up on their relationship and more tears forming in his eyes when he counted each ring thinking that it was just going to go right to voicemail, but perking up immediately when he heard a click and a voice that made him just want to burst.

  
_"M-Makoto?"_

  
"I need to see you." Makoto said, smiling and wiping at his eyes. "I need to see you, p-please."

  
".. _.this weekend? I could always come as soon as I could_ -" Makoto heard shuffling on the other line, and the jingle of Seijuurou's set of keys and more fumbling.

  
The brunette shook his head. "No, I'll come. It's okay, put your shoes back down."

  
_"You...why did you wait this long to call, Makoto?"_

  
"I'll say everything in two days, okay? I'll take the first train in the morning on Saturday."

  
He heard Seijuurou sigh. _"O-okay. I'll see you then?"_

  
"...Seijuurou?"

  
_"Yeah?"_

  
Makoto opened his mouth, but then quickly shut it. "Ah, it's nothing. Just...something I would rather tell you face to face. See you Saturday." He hung up, putting his phone back on the small table and fell back on his bed.

  
Makoto clutched the narwhal in his arms, closing his eyes once Seijuurou's cologne reached his nose and smiled, heart still beating firmly against his chest.

  
_I love you, and I want to tell you in person._


	18. Scared Stiff

"There's one thing I have to tell you though, Mikoshiba."

  
Seijuurou and Rin walked side by side from the station to Haruka's home, their share of snacks handing from their hands in plastic bags. It was Nagisa's idea to hold semi-weekly movie nights, and with the addition of Seijuurou being Makoto's boyfriend, they invited him to attend as well. They were themed nights, ranging from older movies that were in black in white to romance, to comedy, anything that seemed fitting for the night and rotated with every get-together. This night, however, was horror films as requested by Nagisa and Rin.

  
"You know Makoto's terrified of this stuff, right? Scary stuff?"

  
The Samezuka captain raised an eyebrow at the younger redhead, scoffing. "You're kidding."

  
"Completely serious. I've known him for years and he still screams bloody murder whenever we mention or watch something scary."

  
"Makoto? Really?"

  
"Really."

  
Red eyebrows knitted together as he saw Rin grinning at him, a coy look in his eyes. The two swimmers walked up the stone steps, Rin leading the way to Haruka's home and knocked on the door. A muffled 'come in Rin and Mikoshiba!' came from inside and the two shrugged, Rin opening the door and letting himself and Seijurou inside. Rin and Seijuurou made their way to the kitchen, being greeted by Rei who was helping Haruka with the already wide variety of snacks and drinks.

  
"It's about time you two showed up." Haruka mumbled, getting a few bowls from the cupboard. "Nagisa's been asking where you guys have been for the last twenty minutes."

  
Rin rolled his eyes, taking the bag from Seijuurou's hand and putting both on the counter. "Of course he was. Sorry, we stopped by and got a few extra things and at least somebody didn't extend practice." He glanced over at Seijuurou, who scoffed.

  
"Hey, maybe you deserve it now! I'll throw you right in that pool when we get back in, Matsuoka!"

  
"Bite me."

  
"If you two would stop your bickering could one of you help me here?" Haruka said, motioning to the spare plastic littering the counter-space and things that still needed to be put in bowls. Rin groaned, standing next to Rei and grabbed the garbage to put in the trash can.

  
"Ah...where's Makoto?" Seijuurou asked and looked around, rubbing the back of his neck.

  
"He should be in the living room with Nagisa, actually." Rei pointed over his shoulder. "They're just moving some stuff around to make sure we all have room."

  
Seijuurou nodded, exiting the kitchen and following the faint noise of Nagisa's loud voice until he found the two swimmers rearranging the couch and small table. The redhead had also noticed a stack of movies already set up by the tv, and Seijuurou was surprised that Nagisa had that much in his collection, as told by Rin on their way over. The two groaned, pushing the couch back more together so that there was a larger gap between it and the table, then moving the table back slightly so that it was at more of a distance from the tv.

  
"How about this?" Nagisa said, hands on his hips and examining the area. "I think that with whoever gets the couch first, there should be plenty of room on the floor now so that it's all roomy."

  
"Should we get the spare cushions from the hall closet?" Makoto turned his head to the side.

  
"I think so, we all know the floor isn't all that comfortable. Blankets too?"

  
"Blankets too, yes." Makoto turned around, smile spreading on his face as he saw Seijuurou standing awkwardly with his hands in his pockets. "You okay? You look lost, almost."

  
"A-ah, yeah, just...first time in Nanase's house, that's all." Seijuurou gave a reassuring smile. Makoto strode over, giving the redhead a quick peck (earning an enthusiastic " _Go get 'em Mako-chan!_ " from Nagisa).

  
"Oh, now that Sei and Rin are here, that means we can start! We were mostly waiting on you two!" Nagisa cheered, dashing into the kitchen to check the progress of the snacks being prepared and then to go to the closet to retrieve the cushions and blankets. Both Seijuurou and Makoto glanced over at the empty couch, grinning at each other before sitting down and claiming their spots, the redhead letting Makoto have the arm of the couch. The sound of Nagisa chattering away to the others got louder, and the blonde pouted once he saw Makoto and Seijuurou already on the couch, mouth falling open and pink eyes widening with a sudden idea. "Rei!"

  
"What, Nagisa-" Rei yelped as Nagisa grabbed his arm, pulling him towards the couch and pushing him down next to Seijuurou and dropping the spare cushions and blankets on the floor.

  
"Couple couch! Sorry Haru and Rin, you get the floor!" Nagisa settled himself next to Rei, making Rin roll his eyes and set the drinks and plastic cups on the table, Haruka following behind. "You can pick what we watch, though!"

  
Rin and Haruka crouched in front of the stack of movies, picking up case after case, inspecting each one and mumbling about them to make a decision. Once reaching it, Haruka took the chosen film from Rin's hand, opening the plastic and put it in the dvd player, grabbing the remote and settling into a comfortable position on the floor next to Rin.

  
"Well?" Nagisa asked, settling the bowl of chips in Rei's lap. "Pick something good?"

  
"Figured zombies were the way to go." Haruka pressed play on the menu screen, hearing Seijuurou make a sound of discomfort, and the group all turned to Makoto who already seemed a bit pale and was digging his fingers into his boyfriend's knee. "You sure you're going to be okay, Makoto? It's also the least-terrifying thing we could find."

  
The brunette nodded and Seijuurou wrapped his arm around Makoto's shoulders, pulling the youngest closer to him. With his spare hand, he grabbed a few chips from the bowl in Rei's lap, holding it out to Makoto, who accepted them with a shaking hand. Maybe Rin was right..., Seijuurou thought, once the movie started and heard a displeased whine from Makoto. It didn't help that they had made the room as dark as possible, curtains drawn back and all light sources turned off. He also wondered what other movie options there were aside from the one Rin and Haruka had chosen, because seeing zombie after zombie devouring a human and then being shot right in the head (with Makoto clinging to him with every second) and the amount of gore, Seijuurou could only imagine that this could have been something 'toned-down' just for Makoto's sake.

  
In most cases with other couples, this would be the perfect tough guy opportunity for Seijuurou. Scary movie, scared boyfriend, this was possibly Seijuurou's time to shine to be Makoto's perfect boyfriend infront of his closest friends. He glanced over at Nagisa almost completely in Rei's lap, the two watching the screen with wide eyes as the blonde continued to stuff his face with snacks without breaking eye contact, and then down at Rin and Haruka on the floor, who were slightly leaning forward. All throughout the movie, Makoto was clinging to the redhead, keeping his face halfway pressed to Seijuurou's shoulder, yelping and trying not to scream . He would yelp when he would turn his head to the side, thinking that for once that he would be able to watch at least some of the movie that didn't have a terrifying zombie on screen, but failed almost every time. Seijuurou rubbed comforting circles against Makoto's side.

  
"This is the best part!" Nagisa nudged Rin with his foot, a wide grin on his face.

  
"I don't know, that part where the girl fights her way out of the hotel was pretty-" Seijuurou was cut off by Makoto's shrill yell and burying his face into the redhead's shoulder, not wanting to watch as a zombie burst out of the floorboards and grabbed the protagonists' ankle. "Jesus, sweetheart! Give me a heart attack and scare me more than the movie does, will ya!"

  
A muffled 'sorry!' came from Makoto, who refused to look back up at the screen. Seijuurou frowned, turning his head so that he could speak to the terrified swimmer without exposing him to the amounts of bloodshed on the screen.

  
"Do you want to step outside for a little while?" He asked, earning a quick nod. "'scuse me, Haru..."

  
Haruka shifted so that Makoto and Seijuurou could step onto the floor and walk to the sliding doors, the older captain sliding them open so Makoto could get some fresh air and be away from the movie that was only a little over halfway finished.

  
"I'm gonna have new bruises from your clinging, Mako." Seijuurou gave a small laugh, but his smile faded one he saw the saddened look on Makoto's face. "Hey..."

  
"...I'm sorry, me being like this is ruining the night, huh?"

  
"Sweetheart..." Seijuurou sat down next to Makoto, taking the brunette's hands and put them in his lap. "To be honest when Rin told me earlier that you weren't too...keen on these things, I didn't believe him. But it's fine."

  
"...are you sure?"

  
"Yeah, I mean, I'm completely scared stiff of needles so, we're kind of even?"

  
Makoto blinked. "...so if you had to go to the doctors and get some kind of injection or anything-"

  
"Same thing goes with the dentist when I had to get fillings. I freak out." Seijuuou laced his fingers with Makoto's, inhaling. "I still love you, regardless if you get scared like this so..." He smiled, kissing the top of Makoto's head. "We can always wait out here until it's over, if you want."

  
Makoto smiled, pressing his lips to Seijuurou's cheek. "Okay."

* * *

  
"Makoto, Mikoshiba, it's over now." Haruka peeked his head outside. "Guys?"

  
"Shhh, don't wake them up!"

  
The four swimmers stared at the backs of Seijuurou and Makoto, with Makoto's head resting on the older captain's shoulder, both sound asleep. Nagisa took a single step outside, devious grin on his face, but was stopped by Rin's hand on his shoulder.

  
"Don't you dare, kid."


	19. Chapter 19

"So...tomorrow you're telling him, huh?"

  
Makoto glanced over to Haruka as they walked back home after swim practice. The brunette had turned down plans with Nagisa for the weekend, saying that he was going to be out of town and that he was sorry. Nagisa being Nagisa, and knowing exactly what Makoto meant by saying that he was going to be 'out of town' meant Kyoto, which lead to asking about Seijuurou. Makoto just smiled as he continued drying his hair, said yes, and that maybe sometime later that they could all hang out within the next few days, and that was the end of that conversation.

  
"I am, yes. And to be honest, I'm kinda nervous..."

  
The two young swimmers stopped in front of the steps to Haruka's home, Haruka staring at the tallest for a moment. Makoto raised an eyebrow, confused that his best friend wasn't saying anything or turning to walk up the stone steps, until Haruka came forward to wrap his arms around Makoto in a tight hug surprising the brunette. Ever since Makoto called Seijuurou, telling him that he would see the redhead on the weekend, Haruka had noticed a change in the brunette's behavior. Makoto was smiling again, was definitely more cheerful, and when the oldest had glanced over at Makoto's phone he saw that Makoto had changed the image back to Seijuurou instead of the cat pancakes that Ren and Ran made for him in an attempt to cheer him up.

  
"H-Haru?"

  
"Good luck, okay?" Haruka's voice was softened by his face being pressed into Makoto's shoulder. "Call me if anything goes wrong. Or if it goes right. Your happiness is important."

  
Makoto smiled, hugging his best friend back. "Of course, Haru. Thank you."

  
Saturday morning finally arrived after an evening of restless sleep, and the only thing that Makoto had said to Seijuurou so far was that he had boarded the train and was on his way. Makoto bit his lip, staring out at the passing scenery on the train, hoping that it would calm his nerves. He let his fingers tap against his overnight bag, heart beating against his chest as the announcement that the Kyoto stop was coming closer and that means Seijuurou was moments away.

  
Only moments away from telling Seijuurou that he truly loved him.

  
It didn't even seem like the hour-long trip, as Makoto let his mind wander and snap back to reality whenever an announcement came through the speakers. He thought about what he wanted to do with the redhead once things were officially patched up between them, putting this whole mess behind and it to only be a distant memory. He wanted to show Seijuurou the pictures of Tama he took during the week, how he almost managed to beat his personal record, and that he wanted to ask Seijuurou to put together a photo book with him due to all of the photos they have as a couple and with the ones of the redhead by himself that he adored...even if it sounded a bit too girly. Maybe he would finally cook something special for him, arranging the perfect stay-at-home date when his parents and siblings would be out.

  
Friday evening when Makoto was packing his spare clothes and toiletries, he thought about the perfect way to tell Seijuurou that he was sorry, stupid, and that being apart and not talking for that long was unbearable. He thought about leading up to the point, but instead he just wanted to let it all out because when he would be face to face with Seijuuou, he wouldn't be able to think straight and follow his thought-out 'I'm sorry and I love you' apology plan anyways. Makoto unzipped the side pocket on his bag, peering inside and making sure that the container of apology cookies that he made while he was packing were still safe and un-crushed. He followed the recipe that was in the book, step by step and being double checked by his mother to make sure he was adding the right things and the right amount, to make Seijuurou the perfect batch of chocolate chip cookies. He let out a deep sigh of relief, zipping the pocket back up and reaching for his phone that was resting on his leg, seeing a new message from Rin.

  
_Nervous?_

  
He smiled and rolled his eyes, replying to the redhead. Just to keep them in the loop and not have Rin hound him for constant updates, Makoto told Haruka and Rin the day after he called Seijuurou that he was going to make up with his boyfriend. He was happy that they understood, and they were even happy for their closest friend was going to finally smile again, because they knew how truly happy Seijuurou made Makoto.

  
_Ten more minutes and I'll tell you if my heart is in my throat yet._

  
_I'll make sure to tell Haru that. Good luck._

  
"Kyoto university, next stop..."

  
Makoto glanced down at the picture of Seijuurou as his phone wallpaper, resting his head against the cool metal and sighed, smile still wide on his face.

* * *

  
Seijuurou tried his best to keep himself calm, staring at the clock at the station. Makoto would be arriving any minute, and to say that he was nervous would be an understatement. Is it that important for Makoto to have to tell me face to face? He thought, getting more anxious as he watched the hands on the clock face move. From the evening that Makoto called to this morning, Seijuurou had completely turned around. He had willingly gotten out of bed, shaved, cleaned his share of the room, did all of his laundry, finished his homework that was piling up on his desk, doing everything to cover up the fact that he was almost immobile for the last week due to a suffering heart.

  
"Go get 'em, Mikoshiba." Aikawa said, smiling at the redhead who was making sure that he looked okay in the mirror. "It'll work out. Makoto's a good kid."

  
He took a deep breath, seeing the train in the distance coming closer to the station, almost bouncing on his heels due to a knot of emotion in his gut. Seijuurou stayed where he was, near the line of benches as the train came to a halt, trying to control his breathing as the doors slid open. There were only a few people that dwindled out, golden eyes scanning the minimal crowd until they met with a familiar green framed with brown hair that immediately took his breath away. Seijuurou swallowed, rubbing his sweating palms against his jeans.

  
_He looks so handsome, as always._

  
_Shit, he doesn't look happy at all..._

  
_Oh god, what if it's bad news that he wanted to tell me? What if he does really want to break up?_

  
_...But what if it's something good, it COULD be something good-_

  
Seijuurou watched as Makoto strode forward, his steps matching the rhythm of his heart beating against his chest. He took a double-take upon seeing the black bag he knew Makoto only used for overnight trips, and the next thing Seijuurou knew was the warm feeling of Makoto's hands against his cheeks and soft lips suddenly against his own, and his knees almost buckled, too stunned to even kiss back.

  
And for the fact that Makoto tasted exactly like peppermint and chocolate.

  
"I love you, Seijuurou." Makoto's voice was quiet, pressing their foreheads together. "I love you so much, Sei, I'm so sorry-"

  
"Makoto..." Seijuurou blinked, his own hands moving to rest on Makoto's waist, trying to comprehend that Makoto had kissed him and said he loved him and that he was sorry. "Do you mean it? Do you really mean it?"

  
"C'mon," The brunette pulled away, adjusting the strap of his bag. "We need to talk, don't we?"

  
"We can go back to my room, Aikawa's visiting his parents this weekend and he left when I did, so we'll have the room to ourselves." Seijuurou suggested, and Makoto nodded. The redhead removed his hands from Makoto's waist, letting them linger at the brunette's hands. "C-can I...?"

  
Makoto felt a familiar large hand brush against his, also feeling his cheeks warm up and a smile spread unconsciously on his face. "Yes. Of course you can."

  
Seijuurou couldn't help but smile himself, lacing his fingers with Makoto's and his heart almost leapt out of his chest when he felt Makoto squeeze back reassuringly. The oldest was surprised that he could move his legs and walk back to the dorms, Makoto beside him, hand in hand, that everything was okay and that the most perfect backstroke swimmer in his life still loved him. He fished his door key out of his pocket, unlocking the door and pushing it open. Seijuurou put his jacket on the back of his chair, taking the black bag from the brunette and setting it in its usual place next to his bed.

  
"Well..." Seijuurou sat down on the edge of his bed, Makoto following his actions and sitting down next to the redhead. "You...you're sorry?" The redhead watched as Makoto's expression changed, and he wondered if Makoto had been thinking about what exactly to say since the phonecall and was having trouble deciding on what to say first. "You don't want to break up?"

  
"Of course I don't. I feel like a jerk for lying to you like that. As soon as I started shouting I know I shouldn't have, and all I want to do is apologize until I can't breathe anymore and do anything I can to make it up to you. I...I tried to imagine a future without you, and I couldn't, and that's when I knew that the last week was a terrible mistake. So. I'm sorry for lying, I'm sorry for hiding my feelings, and I'm sorry for yelling and asking to be apart for awhile." Makoto sighed, resting his head on Seijuurou's shoulder. "You know, Aikawa told me how miserable you were."

  
"...He did?"

  
The youngest nodded. "Yeah. He called me, and said that you were really having a hard time, all because of me. Just imagining you like how he said just..." Makoto gripped Seijuurou's hand. "...it was unbearable, Sei. And I thought that since I was the one who said I needed space, some time to myself, it would be easy, and it was...for awhile."

  
Seijuurou raised an eyebrow. "Awhile?"

  
"Awhile being a day and a half." Seijuurou watched as Makoto's expression changed, and pink lightly dusting his cheeks. "Everything just made me think of you, and how important you really are to me. You have no idea how sorry I am for putting you through this whole thing. Every time someone mentioned you, I just felt so guilty and sad and...alone, and that's when I knew that I couldn't be without you. A week was long enough, and I could barely get through it until I know that I had to call you and make things right. I just wish that I had done it sooner so that it would all be over, because hearing your voice after not hearing it for that long..." Makoto looked down, mentally telling himself not to cry even though he felt warm tears prick the corners of his eyes.

"Mako, I should still be the one who's sorry for causing this whole thing." The redhead frowned, lifting his hand to brush Makoto's bangs from his face, thumb nudging the corner of Makoto's eye. "No matter how much you try to convince me otherwise, I still don't forgive myself for what I did, and I understand why you felt the way you did, and why you needed time for you. Makoto..." Seijuurou let himself smile, hooking his index finger with Makoto's. "...I'm just happy that you don't hate me."

  
"Seijuurou Mikoshiba, I know now that I can never hate you." Makoto tilted his head, pressing his lips to Seijuurou's shoulder. "I love you, and only you."

  
"I love you too, so much." Seijuurou wrapped an arm around Makoto, pulling the other boy closer and sighed. "And Aikawa wasn't wrong, you know. This room was like a disaster area for the last few days until you called and it seemed to take forever to clean it with the little time I had to do it in."

  
"That bad?" Makoto glanced around, not finding anything out of the ordinary. "It doesn't look like it was."

  
"Ah, but that's the wonders of cleaning, Mako. I guess he told you that I only moved because I had to, huh?" He saw Makoto nod. "Yeah...I really wasn't expecting to be told that you wanted a break. Took it harder than I thought, I felt exactly like those people in movies and books that are just crushed after they break it off with someone." Seijuurou gave a small chuckle, recalling his actions for the last week. "I only left this bed because I had to."

  
"...He also said that you didn't shave at all." Makoto ran the back of his hand against Seijuurou's jaw, feeling the smooth skin. "I bet...you looked really handsome, to be honest."

  
Seijuurou's face reddened. "Handsome meaning patchy, really itchy hair on my face, then yes. Handsome. Maybe I'll stop shaving for awhile so you can see, but that means you have to do it, too."

  
"Awh, do I have to?" Makoto pouted. "I don't look good at all when I try to grow anything out, facial hair or just my actual hair."

  
"Hmmmm..." Seijuurou rubbed his chin, making it look like he was deep in thought before laughing. "Nope, if you want me to grow out some kind of beard or whatever, so do you."

  
Makoto giggled, using his hand to bring Seijuurou's head down to press their lips together. "I missed you, so much. I just really missed...us, you know? I never payed attention to the others saying that we were meant for each other and I completely believe them now, and I'm never going to let you go again, no matter what happens."

  
"Thank you, Makoto. That means a lot to me. And don't even get me started on how much I missed you..." Seijuurou kissed the brunette again, frowning when Makoto untangled himself from the oldest and reach for his bag to pull it over. "Uh, Mako...?"

  
"Before I forget..." Makoto pulled out the container of cookies, smiling as he held it out for Seijuurou to take. "I made these for you last night."

  
"Woah, you did? By yourself?" The redhead took the plastic from Makoto's hands, inspecting the container. "Impressive, they don't even look burnt."

  
He nodded. "The only thing that someone helped me with was my mom when she was watching to make sure I was doing everything right. But from putting everything in the bowl, mixing it, and then in the oven, I did it all by myself. I followed the recipe, bit by bit. They're just simple chocolate chip cookies, but made with love, so I hope that counts?"

  
Seijuurou felt the familiar butterflies in his stomach once again, seeing Makoto's smiling and proud face as he took the lid off to take out a single cookie. He knew of Makoto's cooking and baking experiences all too well, accidentally asking the brunette if he could make something for dinner one evening while they were studying which resulted in the redhead controlling a kitchen fire and then making chicken and rice for the two of them instead while trying to reassure Makoto that everything was okay and he didn't mean to burn the vegetables. He hesitated with putting the treat to his mouth, before opening and taking a small bite.

  
"This is..." Seijuurou paused, putting the rest of the cookie in his mouth to finish.

  
"It is...?" Makoto knitted his eyebrows together, watching as Seijuurou continued to chew. "Is it good enough for you to swallow? Did I mess something up? I'll go get your trashcan..."

  
"Makoto, it was delicious." He smiled at Makoto's sigh of relief. "I'm really proud of yo-" Seijuurou pretended to gag, a hand over his mouth and all, and couldn't help but laugh at how fast Makoto reached for the nearby trashcan. "I'm kidding, they really were good."

  
"You jerk!" Makoto pushed Seijuurou's shoulder. "Maybe I'll just eat all of them by myself then, or just leave them for Aikawa!"

  
"Awh, I'm sorry, sweetheart...I would eat the rest right now, but we have a whole day ahead of us to do lots of things." Seijuurou smiled, tucking a strand of hair behind Makoto's ear.

  
"Like what?" The confused look on Makoto's face returned, but softened when Seijuurou kissed his forehead.

  
"Well...date stuff. We can go out for lunch, do some shopping, I just...want to be around you and tell the world that the cutie Makoto Tachibana is all mine once again and that I love him and only him and to put the awful separation we had behind us and we have lots to make up for it." Seijuurou grinned, placing the container on the bedside table and leaning back over Makoto. "But first...I want to do something that I really missed doing, if that's alright."

  
The look in Seijuurou's eyes and the hand rubbing his hip was all Makoto needed to know. The brunette just laughed, pulling Seijuurou down by the collar of his shirt on top of him. "Is that so? You really want to?"

  
Seijuurou brought his mouth to Makoto's ear, nipping the lobe with his teeth, smirking when he heard Makoto moan. "Oh, _definitely_."


	20. Bikinis and Hormones (M)

Makoto smiled, resting his arms on the edge of the pool and glanced over at Seijuurou talking to his teammates and Gou. It was another joint practice day at Samezuka, and another day full of blown kisses, showing off muscles, and quick kisses as they made their way around the pool and other swimmers. While the Iwatobi team knew fully well about the captain's relationship, Seijuurou actually had to take the time to talk to his team about the possible PDA that would occur during practice. Thankfully, no one had responded negatively, which made both Makoto and Seijuurou sigh in relief.

  
"Mako-chan, can you time me real quick?" Nagisa glanced over to where Makoto was looking at, and smiled. "Ohhhh, I know that look."

  
"Look? What look?" Makoto pulled himself out of the pool, shivering when the cool air touched his wet skin.

  
"The look on your face, silly. The 'I love love _looooove_ you' look." The blonde nudged Makoto's side with his elbow. "It's all over your face. You used to hide it and it seems like there's no stopping you two now. It's cute, honest. Looks like Rei and I have some competition."

  
The Iwatobi captain rolled his eyes, feeling his face heat up once he saw Seijuurou make eye contact and give a small wave. "C'mon, you said you wanted to be timed, let's go do it before we have to leave, okay?"

  
"You know, I heard Gou and Mikoshiba talk about the most interesting thing last week..."

  
Makoto looked down at Nagisa, who had a develish grin on his face. The captain knew that nothing good could come out of this by asking, but there was a part of him that was curious since it involved his boyfriend. "...And what would that be, Nagisa?"

  
"Apparently Gou-chan and a few of her friends are going to the beach this weekend, and she couldn't decide on a swimsuit to wear." Nagisa laughed at the look on Makoto's face. "I know, I know, she doesn't even swim, but she didn't bring up wearing her choices for him, I know for that much. Apparently he helped her pick one out because she took pictures of the ones she had, but then something...interesting happened."

  
The captain glanced over at the two redheads still talking, and turned his back on them to focus on Nagisa. "And?"

  
Nagisa laughed again. "When she walked away, he started talking to one of his teammates. And someone had mentioned you, and the words 'Makoto' and 'bikini' were said in the same sentence, and then his face lit up just like a Christmas tree."

  
"Wait, how would you know?" Makoto blinked, face heating up. "Were you just 'around', or did someone tell you, or...?"

  
"I was helping Rei stretch, so we were right there where he was. You can even ask Rei to confirm what I said. Seems that Captain Narwhal has a pretty little mental image of you in a bikini, Mako...and I can help you with that." Nagisa took a hold of Makoto's wrist, pulling him to the locker rooms and to where the Iwatobi team had put their things.

  
"Nagisa, we should really get back out there, we still have a half hour to swim left and we shouldn't waste it-" Makoto looked over to the clock, then back down at Nagisa where his eyes were met with a white piece of fabric. "...what is _that_?"

  
"A swimsuit, duh. You've seen bikinis before." The blonde held it up to his hips, it now obvious that it was a bottom-half to a bikini. "And I want you to wear it for Mikoshiba. He'll go _crazy_ once he sees you in this."

  
Makoto raised an eyebrow, biting his lip. With a sigh he took the white material in his hand, stuffing it in his bag and his face burning. "Fine, I'll wear it for him."

  
"You can thank me later." Nagisa beamed, walking out of the locker room with Makoto at his side. "Now, time for timing! I think today's the day where I can beat the clock!"

  
The last thirty minutes seemed to fly by, Makoto taking the time to help Nagisa and even Rei and Haruka with tracking their own times. After talking to Rin and Nitori, Seijuurou walked over, wrapping an arm around Makoto's waist and using his thumb to snap the waistband of Makoto's swimsuit.

  
"Good practice today?" He asked, watching Makoto write down numbers in their respective places.

  
Makoto nodded, placing the pencil in the clipboard and turned so that he could kiss his boyfriend. "Everyone's doing great, and I'm glad. Definitely good improvements."

  
"Hey, where did you and Hazuki go a bit ago? When I got done talking to Gou I couldn't find you and when I asked Haruka he shrugged, and Nitori said that Nagisa was missing too because he wasn't with Rei."

  
The backstroke swimmer's face flushed, thinking of what Nagisa had told him and the clothing item that was in his bag specifically to wear for his boyfriend. He shook his head, smiling up at the redhead. "It was nothing, he just wanted to ask if we wanted to eat before going back home. But...I did want to ask you something, too..."

  
"Hmmm?" Seijuurou rubbed the back of Makoto's neck, feeling the brunette relax. "What is it?"

  
"C-can I stay over tonight? I know we didn't have anything planned until next week, and you have a early saturday practice tomorrow, but-"

  
"Of course you can, it's no trouble at all. The more time I spend with you the better. Remember, there's a reason why we have spare clothes for each other tucked away." The redhead smiled, kissing the side of Makoto's head and lead him to the locker room. "I was going to ask you if you wanted to stay anyways, but it seems like you beat me to it."

* * *

  
With Nagisa glancing over at Makoto all throughout dinner, mouthing 'you're gonna do it huh' and making a triangle with his fingers to resemble the bikini, it seemed like an eternity before Makoto and Seijuurou were back on campus and unwinding after a long day in Seijuurou's room. The oldest had suggested that cuddling and to watch a movie would be the best thing with having to get up decently early tomorrow.

  
"You can get the movie started, I want to get changed first." Makoto got up from the bed, going through his bag and spotting the white swimsuit bottom buried under his towel. "U-um, Sei?"

  
"Yes, sweetheart?"

  
"Can you...turn around and close your eyes for a second? Please?"

  
Seijuurou pouted. "But babe, I've seen you naked before, is it really a problem that I watch while you change?"

  
Makoto shook his head. "I-It's not that, I just have...something that I want to show you, is all. And I need you to not be looking. It'll...ruin the surprise."

  
"Surprise? Okay, then." Seijuurou chuckled, laying down on his side on the bed and facing the wall. "Alright, my eyes are closed, go for it."

  
The youngest took a deep breath, quickly removing his shirt and pants, along with his boxers so he was left standing naked in the middle of the room, holding the thin, white fabric in his hands. He sighed, carefully stepping through the holes and brought the swimsuit up to cover himself, shaking fingers fumbling with the strings to make sure that they were securely tied. Makoto grunted, rearranging himself so that his shaft and balls were covered the best they could with what little fabric there was, and that it was comfortable. His eyes landed on Seijuurou's track jacket, and Makoto grabbed it, quickly putting it on and leaving it unzipped. Makoto made sure that the strings would stay tied because due to his frame, they were tied the best they could but was afraid that with any sudden movement, they would come untied.

  
"O-okay, you can look now."

  
Makoto was surprised at how fast Seijuurou turned over, but was more impressed by the speed of Seijuurou's jaw dropping open. The oldest's face turned red, eyes widening and trailing back up to meet embarrassed green.

  
"...Well this is a surprise." Seijuurou leaned back, taking in the sight of his boyfriend standing in front of him. "Damn good. But...why my jacket, too?"

  
"It feels...weird not wearing my usual swimsuit. Like I'm too naked, I don't know how you manage wearing your speedo all of the time." Makoto's fingers played with the hem of the jacket, lifting the ends up slightly so that Seijuurou could see more. "...Nagisa's idea. He said that he overheard you and Gou, and that when you said my name and bikini in the same sentence, you, uhm...seemed to like the thought of it."

  
"I'm not sure whether I should tell you to thank Nagisa or I should myself."

  
"E-ehhh?" Makoto's face flushed even redder, and yelped when he felt one of the strings come loose, the fabric slipping down his legs so that he was fully exposed for Seijuurou to see. "Ah, n-no...!" He quickly grabbed the ends, trying to re-tie them to his hips the best as he could.

  
"Makoto, c'mere." Makoto glanced up to see lust in Seijuurou's dilated eyes, and the redhead's legs spread out with the obvious growing bulge in his sweatpants. "Come on, sit."

  
"W-where?" The flustered brunette asked, and Seijuurou only responded by patting his lap. Makoto swallowed the lump in his throat and stepped towards Seijuurou, doing as he was told and straddled his boyfriend's lap, large hands coming up to rest on his hips. He inhaled, feeling their erections being pressed together and only being separated by mere fabric.

  
"Do you realize..." Seijuurou's voice was low, at the level that the oldest always used only around Makoto. "...how amazing you look right now? Showing off your long legs like that, only in that tiny bikini half and my jacket? I did picture you in one, but..." The redhead placed kisses along Makoto's jaw, down to his neck to lick at the lightly tanned skin. "I never thought I would see you in something so...revealing, babe."

  
Makoto whimpered, twisting his hands in Seijuurou's red shirt as Seijuurou started sucking at his neck and rocking his hips against Makoto's, both swimmers moaning at the contact. Seijuurou detached his mouth, admiring the blossoming hickey that he left on Makoto's shoulder and kissed before moving to lick and suck at more areas on Makoto's chest. Golden eyes glanced down, seeing Makoto's erection strained against the thin fabric and begging to be touched. He let out a groan as Makoto pushed down on his own hardness, resisting the urge to just throw Makoto down on the mattress and fuck him into it all because of a single clothing item.

  
"Makoto." Seijuurou said into the brunette's shoulder, an idea coming into his head. "Hands and knees, sweetheart."

  
Knowing that he should ask questions later, Makoto only nodded and did what he was told, climbing off of Seijuurou and onto the bed and face burning even redder as he positioned himself on his elbows and knees at the head of the mattress. He felt the bed dip with Seijuurou moving as well and he glanced back, watching Seijuurou lick his lips. Seijuurou placed his hands on Makoto's ass, kneading and squeezing the skin, listening to the pleased groans coming from the head of the bed. He gave an experimental slap with his hand, which made Makoto let out a sharp moan and Seijuurou felt his legs tremble.

  
"Just relax, okay?" Seijuurou let his fingers untie the right side of the bikini strings, pushing the fabric to the side, exposing more of Makoto's skin. He cupped Makoto's ass again, his thumbs spreading them apart and revealing his puckered hole. The redhead leaned forward, swallowing the saliva in his mouth before giving an experimental lick, earning a very strained groan. He gripped Makoto tighter, coating his tongue in more saliva before licking again, hearing more moans spill from Makoto's lips as he buried his face into Seijuurou's pillow as Seijuurou continued to lick and nibble at the skin around his hole. He spread his cheeks apart wider, curling his tongue to slowly press it inside of Makoto, making the youngest cry out and push his hips back against Seijuurou's mouth.

  
"S-Sei..." Makoto gripped at the sheets beneath him, legs trembling as he felt Seijuurou's too-talented tongue lap at his insides while his fingers massaged his ass and thighs. His erection was now straining against his stomach, feeling the pre-come dripping and surely staining Seijuurou's sheets and he knew that the redhead was painfully hard as well. Seijuurou moaned against Makoto's skin, one of his hands drifting down to slip down the front of his sweatpants and gripped his his erection, lazily pumping it as he continued to thrust in and out of his writhing boyfriend. He felt Makoto move off of his arms for a moment, fumbling to reach for something, and then Seijuurou found a condom and his spare bottle of lube being tossed at him.

  
"N-now, Seijuurou..." The brunette whined. "Please-"

  
In seconds Seijuurou withdrew his tongue from Makoto's hole, quickly pushing down his sweatpants and ripping open the foil of the condom packet. When Makoto asked during sexual activities, he didn't hesitate whatsoever due to wanting to please the brunette, and the fact that it drove Seijuurou crazy when Makoto would ask things. With shaking hands he rolled the latex onto himself, opening the bottle of clear liquid and smeared a generous amount on his shaft, glancing down at Makoto trying to still hold his ass in the air.

  
"Alright..." Seijuurou re-positioned himself behind Makoto, on his knees, lining himself up and nudging his tip against the slicked entrance. "You sure? I haven't properly stretched you out..."

  
"Please, yes-"

  
With one hand Seijuurou gripped Makoto's hip while the other tugged at the swimsuit, pressing himself into Makoto's warm and welcoming body. He groaned at the feeling of the brunette around his length, and the sounds coming from Makoto's mouth made golden eyes roll into the back of his skull as he closed his eyes, biting his lip as he shallowly thrusted to loosen Makoto further. He pushed in as far as he could go, his balls resting firmly against Makoto's, and he gave another tug on the semi-constricting fabric, making the backstroker cry out.

  
"Seijuur-ohhh~..." Makoto bit into the pillow as Seijuurou began to thrust slow, feeling the oldest's tip almost slip out, but not quite, before pushing back all the way in. He knew that if Seijuurou didn't have a hand firmly on his hip, that he wouldn't be able to hold himself up for much longer with how badly his legs were trembling. "There...right there...!"

  
Seijuurou felt his tip press against Makoto's sweet spot, sending tremors of pleasure down the brunette's spine, making him all the more audible. It also made the redhead even more determined to pleasure his boyfriend and with another adjustment, he began to increase the speed of his thrusts. The sound of skin against skin barely masked the grunts and groans coming from Seijuurou and the moans and wails from Makoto, both aiming to please each other and the peak of climax getting closer with each deep thrust.

  
_"It's kind of loud in here, is everything okay...?"_

  
Because of all the noise Makoto and Seijuurou were making, they didn't hear a knock at the door, followed by a small voice, and a key being inserted in the lock and the wood creaking open, followed by a shrill screech belonging to no one other than Aiichirou Nitori.

  
"S-Seijuurou, M-M-Makoto, I-I...!"

  
Makoto glanced back and yelped, eyes widening and struggled to get the blanket from beneath him. He fumbled to grasp it and pressed himself back into Seijuurou, which just made the redhead push against his prostate harder, and the youngest couldn't contain himself from letting go with a high moan, his come being mostly contained luckily by the white fabric and he knew by the way Seijuurou grunted and held himself in, that he was coming as well, feeling the weight of the filling condom inside of him.

  
"I'm so so so _so_ sorry!" Nitori squeaked, fumbling with exiting and shutting the door securely, and the distant sound of his own room door across the hall was heard, slamming shut. The couple took a minute to breathe, Makoto frozen in place, face red as Seijuurou's hair. Seijuurou removed himself, peeling off the condom and tying it to throw it away, along with untying the other end of the bikini.

  
"...D-did that just happen?" Makoto covered his face with the pillow, curling up on the bed and feeling Seijuurou get up from the bed and returning with tissues to clean themselves up with. "Did Nitori just...?"

  
"Walk in? Yeah. He sure did." Seijuurou sighed, making sure to get the cum from Makoto's thighs. "I don't even know...should we go and say something, apologize, or...?"

  
"I don't think I can look him in the eye, Sei..." Makoto groaned. "A-and we...we came, and he was right there...he saw...how did he even get in, your door was locked!"

  
"I gave Rin and the kid a spare key awhile back." Seijuurou sat close to Makoto, running his hand through sweaty brown locks reassuringly. "It'll be fine. This kinda thing happens to everyone. It's...just a shame that we probably scarred him for life. And by the way, we're keeping that swimsuit Nagisa gave you to wear."

  
Makoto whined, pressing his face into the soft material as Seijuurou rubbed at the worried brunette's shoulders.

* * *

  
Nitori rushed back into his room, closing the door quickly behind him and putting the spare key onto the shared bookshelf. Rin raised an eyebrow at his flushed roomate, resting the magazine he was reading on his chest. "Did something happen, Ai?"

  
"N-nothing! Everything's fine!" Nitori shook his head, trying to convince Rin that he didn't just walk in on his team captain and his boyfriend having sex. He sat down at his desk, trying to focus on his studies, anything other than the two of them together like that.

  
"Did you find out what was making all of that noise? Was it really Mikoshiba like we thought?"

  
Nitori's face flushed, the sounds of Makoto and Seijuurou still clear in his mind. "I-it must have been someone down the hall, or something..."

  
"Ai..." The youngest heard the bed creak, and he glanced back to see Rin sitting up, arms crossed. "...You're lying to me, aren't you?"

  
"Okay maybe I am, Rin, b-but..." He swallowed, trying to look Rin in the eyes. "But how am I supposed to react seeing captain Mikoshiba and Makoto like...like..."

  
Red eyes widened and Rin's jaw dropped. "You...so you saw Mikoshiba and Makoto-"

  
"Having sex!" Nitori covered his face. "I shouldn't have walked in like that, I should have waited until they answered and not used they key! It would have been just fine if they were just...you know, kissing, but-!"

  
Rin got up from his bed, grabbing his laptop and pulling Nitori over by his jacket sleeve back to the bottom bunk and rummaged through one of his drawers to retrieve their shared stash of chocolate. The youngest yelped when Rin pushed him down and covered him with his spare blanket and tossed half a dozen pieces of chocolate at him, and saw Rin feverishly type away against the keys.

  
"U-uhm, Rin? What're you-"

  
"Restoring your innocence, Ai. Hope you like massive amounts of kittens because you are not leaving this bed until you're content as one."

  
Nitori would have protested, but instead smiled, blue eyes scanning small kittens on the computer screen and laughing at the sight of Rin's more than determined face and trying to push away the feeling of butterflies in his stomach as he bit into the sweet chocolate. "...You're going to tear Mikoshiba a new one, aren't you?"

  
"Two. One for scarring you, and the other for having sex with one of my closest friends."


	21. Chapter 21

"I can't believe you talked me into this..." Makoto's face flushed, sitting beside Seijuurou in the dance studio, waiting for the instructors to arrive.

  
Seijuurou, with his puppy-eyed begging and saying that this would only be a one-time thing and that he would gladly pay for both of them finally broke down the brunette into agreeing to take the pole dancing class that he had mentioned weeks ago. He had called up the instructor soon after (leaving his very naked and very satisfied boyfriend curled up in his sheets), making an appointment for Saturday.

  
"She said to wear shorts and a tank top, babe. Stuff that's comfortable." Seijuurou kissed the side of Makoto's head, resting his chin on the swimmer's shoulder and watching as he looked through his clothes. "Can you wear the ones I like? Please?"

  
"...the red ones?" The redhead nodded, smiling against Makoto's neck as the brunette pulled them out of his drawer.

  
Seijuurou snuck his hand in, pulling out a black pair for himself. "And these are for me."

  
"But, they're a size to small for you-" Makoto paused, understanding why. "O-oh. _Ohhhhh_."

  
Seijuurou had arranged for a one-on-one class, meaning that with himself and Makoto, there would be an instructor for both of them. It was arranged through the local dance studio and with their dancers being talented in all forms of dance, pole dancing being no exception, they were more than glad to take the request to make it a private lesson. They, being two women, around the swimmers' ages. They had finally arrived, setting down their things and stepping in front of the two boys, smiling.

  
"Alright, you must be..." The blonde pointed at Seijuurou. "...Mikoshiba, the one who called?"

  
"Yeah, that's me." Seijuurou smiled, and put a hand on Makoto's shoulder. "But you can call me Seijuurou. And this is Makoto. It's nice to meet you two."

  
"I'm Keiko, and my partner here is Kisa." Keiko gestured to the black-haired woman beside her. "How about Seijuurou, you come with me, and Makoto will be with Kisa?"

  
"Sounds good to me." The redhead squeezed Makoto's shoulder, winking at his boyfriend before stepping forward towards Keiko.

  
Makoto shyly waved at his instructor, letting her lead him to their area across the room to where they had one of two practice poles set up, and Keiko and Seijuurou on the other side of the room with the other pole. He discarded the jacket he was wearing along with his trackpants, leaving him in just a tank-top and the shorts that Seijuurou had suggested to wear.

  
"Alright Makoto, let's get started, shall we?"

* * *

  
Nodding and listening to what his instructor was telling (and showing) him, Makoto couldn't help but glance over at Seijuurou every so often.

  
Seijuurou was right when he said that he would fall. He would do just fine when his feet were on the ground, spinning around and using his arms, eyebrows knit together as he tried to focus on his movements and the advice being given to him. He couldn't contain his laughter when Seijuurou tried to hold onto the pole with his legs upside down, watching as he slowly slid down and managed to catch himself before hitting the ground. However, his eyes narrowed when he saw Seijuurou's instructors hands settle on his thighs, getting them into the correct position so that he would stay up better. The redhead would flush slightly, trying to do as she said, and it made Makoto's blood almost boil that she was touching him so easily. Every touch that she made, on his thighs, arms, back, made him want to jump right down and storm right over to him and show her, and everyone else in the room that Seijuurou Mikoshiba was his, but shook his head, going back to paying attention to his own lesson.

  
"Alright Makoto, I think that your form is really good!"

  
The brunette blinked, remembering that he had his own instructor to pay attention to (and that Seijuurou was the one paying for it), and pushed his thoughts to the back of his mind. He gripped the cold metal of the pole, pulling himself up and trying to recall the correct position she had told him to do a successful twirl as he slid down. She clapped and smiled at Makoto as he came down, putting a hand on his back to steady the swimmer.

  
"You're doing really great!" Kisa smiled, putting her hands on her hips. "But...can I ask something?"

  
"Sure, yeah."

  
She motioned over to Seijuurou and Keiko on the other side of the room. "Is he...your boyfriend or something? I'm sorry if he's not, I just figured that you keep on looking over at him and all..."

  
Makoto smiled and gave a small laugh. "It's okay, he is. He's the one that actually called and made this appointment. He thought that it would be interesting to try and convinced me to come."

His face flushed, recalling Seijuurou's exact words he used when the redhead brought it up. "He also thought that I would be really good at it..."

  
Kisa smiled, looking over at Keiko trying to help Seijuurou up from the ground. "Do you want to show him how amazing you are?"

  
"O-oh no, I couldn't!"

  
"You can show him how well you can hold yourself up! Hey, Keiko, Seijuurou, c'mere!" She called over her shoulder while pushing Makoto up onto the stand where the pole was. Makoto's face reddened even more when he saw Keiko and Seijuurou walk on over, the biggest smile on Seijuurou's face as he stopped and stood next to Kisa. "It's alright Makoto, show Seijuurou what your legs can do."

  
The brunette swallowed the lump in his throat, feeling golden eyes staring holes into him as he placed his hands on the pole, pulling himself up and wrapping his legs around it. Makoto took a deep breath, letting go and tightening the hold of his thighs against the metal. Once he felt his back press against the pole, tank top slightly rising up exposing his stomach, and the tips of his fingers brush against the ground. He opened his eyes and was met with an impressed Keiko, pleased Kisa, and a stunned and flustered Seijuurou.

  
"C-can I come down now?" Makoto asked, feeling slightly lightheaded and more than awkward with two women staring at him and Seijuurou looking as if his nose was going to start bleeding at any second. Kisa nodded and Makoto slowly slid down, letting his body lay down on the platform before sitting up, brushing his bangs aside and out of his face. "Was it okay?"

  
"Okay? I've never seen a newcomer be able to do that on their first day that well!" Keiko beamed and patted Makoto on the shoulder. "There's still time before your lesson is over, do you two want to have a small break before continuing? Maybe Makoto can help you from falling so much, Seijuurou."

  
Seijuuou scoffed, his ears turning a light shade of red as he leaned against the platform and put his hand on Makoto's thigh. "Yeah, maybe by some miracle I can do what Makoto just did by the end of the day without falling on my face."

* * *

  
The two swimmers said their goodbyes to Keiko and Kisa, saying that they were more than looking forward to seeing them again next month. They had offered to help the dancers clean up before their next appointment but the young ladies politely declined.

  
"Have fun?" Seijuurou wrapped his arm around Makoto's waist on their way back to the redhead's dorm. "Those two were really nice, which was a big relief. I thought that we were going to get stuck with people entirely the opposite."

  
Makoto smiled, resting his head on Seijuurou's shoulder and put his hands in his jacket pockets. "Oh I did. I guess you were right in thinking that I would be good at it. Way better than you." The youngest gave a playful push, earning a laugh from Seijuurou.

  
"Hey, I tried! And maybe I'll get better because we agreed to come back again." He pursed his lips, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "I, uh, also saw you staring at me too..."

  
"...She was touching you, you know."

  
Seijuurou looked down at Makoto, who's gaze was set on what was infront of them. "What, that? When Keiko was making sure I wouldn't fall?"

  
"I know that she was only helping you, but as soon as I saw her hand go right for your ass I almost lost my composure."

  
The oldest sighed, pulling Makoto off to the side of the path. Seijuurou put his hands on Makoto's face, tilting his head up so that he could kiss the brunette.

  
"Makoto..." Seijuurou raised an eyebrow. "You know Keiko did the same thing with you. Do you think I didn't see that?" Makoto's face slowly turned red, recalling that she did get a tad bit handsy with helping himself and Seijuurou. "But who can blame her? I for one think that I'm pretty handsome and you in those shorts?" The redhead smiled, pressing his lips to Makoto's burning forehead. "Hot damn."

  
"Oh, stop." Makoto pulled Seijuurou back onto the walkway, and yelped when Seijuurou had snuck his hand down the back of his trackpants. "H-hey!"

  
"Just keeping it safe from anyone else, don't worry." Seijuurou winked at the flustered swimmer. "It's part of my duties as your wonderful boyfriend."

  
Makoto smiled and rolled his eyes, tilting his head so that he could peck Seijuurou's cheek. "You're such a dork."

  
"Hey, but I'm _your_ dork that's making you the most delicious dinner tonight."


	22. Two-Team Cheer

Seijuurou stood in front of his mirror, holding up two different shirts to his chest. Aikawa watched from his bed, head tilted to the side, lips pursed and humming.

  
"The...yellow one with the weird bird is nice? But also team colors is a nice choice."

  
The redhead sighed, putting down the Iwatobi-chan shirt and grabbed his Samezuka shirt as its replacement. "But then there's my old team, too. I know I'll be there for Makoto and his team, but I don't know...I know I'll be rooting for Samezuka as well."

  
"What about Iwatobi shirt, Samezuka jacket? Best of both worlds?" Aikawa laughed, stretching his arms over his head. "Seems like the best option here, mister record-holder."

  
Gold eyes rolled as Seijuurou smirked, putting the yellow shirt over his head to put it on. Seijuurou was more than excited to be there to support Makoto and his team to do their best at this competition, and Samezuka as well. He slid on his familiar track jacket, sighing and combing his fingers through his hair.

  
"Good enough?"

  
Aikawa nodded. "Good enough."

* * *

  
A train ride later to the center where the meet was being held and successfully getting inside, he waited near the check-in table for Makoto to show up. He and the Iwatobi team had gotten here mere moments earlier, and once Seijuurou had texted the brunette that he was inside, Makoto said that he would get to the redhead as soon as he could from their seats. To busy himself he glanced over at the pamplet that had the lineups of the swimmers in each of the events, seeing some of his old teammate's names in their desired events along with his new friends from Iwatobi. Seijuurou had been reassuring Makoto since the previous evening that everything was going to be okay. He had strictly told Makoto near eleven in the evening to finally go to bed, and when he woke up to eat a nice breakfast and take some time to relax, and that he would see him in a few hours. And trusting the older swimmer, Makoto did as he was told.

  
"Ah, Sei!"

  
Seijuurou looked up, eyes meeting with Makoto waving at him and coming closer. He smiled, refolding the pamphlet and linked arms with the excited backstroke swimmer, kissing the top of his head.

  
"I'm so happy you're here!"

  
"Of course I would be here, I wouldn't miss it for anything." Seijuurou winked at the youngest. "Lead the way to the seats, sweetheart."

  
He was more than happy that he was allowed to sit with the rest of the team, getting the news that he could last night after Makoto got home from practice. Makoto had to ask Amakata first, and then the rest of the team if it was alright, and without hesitation they had all said yes. It didn't take long after Seijuurou entering the competition area that he heard people muttering his name and pointing, all about Seijuurou being the record holder in his division last year. Part of him felt proud that people still remembered, probably because he was also wearing his old team jacket, and he couldn't help but smile and acknowledge those who remembered him...and kindly declining phone numbers. Of course he was asked how was he doing now that he was on a college team, and more importantly why he was wearing clothing belonging to two different teams, but he just smiled and said that he wanted to support both, as simple as that.

  
"This is exciting, isn't it?" Seijuurou squeezed Makoto's hand as they walked through the crowd. "I forgot that even for a high-school level competition, the feeling is just as amazing as ever, and I'm not even swimming!"

  
Makoto chucked. "It really is exciting. I hope I do well enough to advance this time..."

  
"Makoto, you're going to do fantastic. Everyone is."

  
There wasn't much change from where the team seats were, he spotted Samezuka's banner straight away from across the pool. Seijuurou raised an eyebrow when he got closer and closer to that area, but then saw the same yellow Iwatobi shirts he was wearing just a space away from the black, red and white clad swimmers of his old team. He spotted Rei and Nagisa setting up their own banner, one different from the previous year, and waved to the group when Makoto sat him down.

  
"You made it!" Gou smiled at him, fixing her ponytail. "Good, Makoto was starting to get worried that you were going to be late."

  
"I-I was not!" Makoto sat down next to Seijuurou, frowning at the younger Matsuoka with his face turning as red as their hair. "I was just...worried that the buses were running late..."

  
"Constantly checking your phone and the time every two minutes?" She grinned at the couple. "It's fine, I'm just teasing. You should be getting ready for your event, though. You have thirty minutes before it starts."

  
"That's right, I saw that you were first." Seijuurou nudged the brunette. "Getting more nervous, then?"

  
Makoto took a deep breath, rubbing his hands together. "A little...but you're here, and that makes it a bit better."

  
"Just a bit?" Seijuurou ran a hand through Makoto's hair, ruffling it and making the brunette whine and changed his expression to try to look offended at the brunette's words. "A bit? Makoto Tachibana, I am offended that no one other than your wonderful boyfriend can't make you feel better-"

  
"Okay, okay, a lot." Makoto laughed, trying to mat down his hair. "I just wish that out of anything, I didn't have to go first."

  
"You'll do great, you can stop worrying." The oldest brought his head down, kissing Makoto's cheek. "I'll be right here, cheering you on."

  
"Oh look, you finally made it." The group looked up to see Rin standing next to Haruka, bottles of water in their hands. He tossed one to his ex-captain and Makoto, and then to the others.

"Makoto was freaking out that you weren't going to make it."

  
"Already said that!" Gou said, flipping through her notebook and Rin rolled his eyes.

  
"Well, either way, good luck to you and you," Rin gestured to Haruka and Makoto. "And the rest of you, because we're going to beat you guys. We've been putting in extra practices for the last two weeks to make sure of it."

  
Seijuurou laughed, putting a hand on Makoto's shoulder. "I trust that you have been training exceptionally hard but I do know that this group has been training hard as well. Either way, with whoever wins what, we're all friends here and all in good competition."

  
Rin raised an eyebrow at his old captain. "Who are you and what have you done with Mikoshiba?"

  
He laughed, shrugging. "Dunno. But Matsuoka...you better swim like your life depends on it, you know. Or else I'll be sure to have a chat with your new captain about increasing your training regimen."

  
"Oi, Makoto! Get ready!" Gou called from her seat next to Amakata, pointing at the clock.

  
Makoto stood up quickly, but was pulled down slightly by Seijuuou who brought their lips together in a quick yet meaningful kiss. Seijuurou heard Rin groan and Nagisa laughing, and the subtle ' _In public? So...daring_ -' comment from Rei, the redhead couldn't help but laugh.

  
"Good luck, sweetheart. Show that water who's boss."

* * *

  
"I love you, I love you, you're amazing, I love you!" Seijuurou hugged a breaming Makoto close to him, rubbing his cheek against his jacket. His voice was hoarse from all his cheering for Makoto, the Iwatobi team, and then for Samezuka. Makoto had gotten first in his event, and so did Haruka and Nagisa, Rei coming close in third for his with Rin on top, and Seijuurou was even surprised that Nitori had closed in for second in his event. And even with Iwatobi beating Samezuka in the relay again, he couldn't complain. His boyfriend and his team's efforts had showed that they had been paying off, and Samezuka had been doing fantastic as well, even if Rin had said that he was going 'a bit too soft and not strict enough when it comes to competitions'. "When you hit that wall, I couldn't help myself but to scream as loud as I could."

  
"I forgot how loud you can yell." Makoto laughed, squeezing Seijuurou. "I heard you loud and clear from down there."

  
"It nearly scared Amakata right out of her seat!" Nagisa threw his arms in the air. "Even she was surprised! And don't act like I didn't see you flinch too, Rei!"

  
"I'm more surprised that Haru seemed like he was having fun, too." Makoto smiled at his best friend at his side, who just turned his head away.

  
"It was fun." He simply said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

  
"Oh Nanase, don't act like I didn't hear you willingly cheer your friends on!" Seijuurou teased, patting Haruka on the back. "We all had a great time."

  
"Y-yeah.." He glanced over at Seijuurou, giving the ex-captain a slight smile. "You are really loud, though."

  
Seijuurou laughed. "I was just showing my support for you guys, I can't help it. You all did really well. And when the next one comes, I'll just have to be even louder!"

  
The group said their farewells until next time, making plans to have a group dinner tomorrow evening once all the happy jitters had died down slightly, and Makoto and Seijuurou walked hand in hand back to the station to say their goodbyes as well.

  
"Are you sure you can't stay?" Makoto frowned and looked up at Seijuurou.

  
"I have a really important assignment to get done tomorrow, I would totally stay if I could."

  
Makoto sighed and smiled, leaning against Seijuurou's shoulder. "It's fine. I mean, it would be really nice if you could stay, but I understand if you have things to do. Really."

  
Seijuurou bit his lip, thinking for a moment before letting out a sigh and a wide smile. "I guess...I could always get it done at your place. Just a small paper that I can email to myself when I'm done in no time, no big deal."

  
"You really don't have to-!" Makoto tried to protest but saw the genuine look in golden eyes and stopped. "I guess that means we'll go shopping for snacks in the morning for us, then."

  
The oldest couldn't help but smile even though it started to hurt, eyes landing on a smal patch of flowers. He stopped, Makoto raising an eyebrow in question, and plucked a single daisy from the others, turning back to the brunette and tucking the stem behind his ear. Seijuurou pulled back, admiring how the flower looked and how cute Makoto was, with his flushed face and wide eyes.

  
"There. I wanted to get you flowers today but I there wasn't any time to get some. Tomorrow, though, I want to get you the biggest boquet I can buy, along with your favorite chocolate. You deserve it." Seijuurou took ahold of Makoto's hand again, bringing it up to his mouth and kissing the top of it. "C'mon, we better get back to your house. It's getting late."

  
With a nod and a content sigh, Makoto rested his head on Seijuurou's shoulder as they walked to the Tachibana residence, happily content with the silence and his boyfriend right next to him.


	23. Chapter 23

Seijuurou Mikoshiba, much or less, was panicking.

  
The freshman had all of his business textbooks opened and scattered across his desk along with his notes, head in his hands, groaning, not wanting to look at another page for as long as he lived or at least until he graduated. Seijuurou had an important presentation coming up, one that would land him a scholarship to allow him to further his business major and also a future internship, and everything he was doing seemed wrong. The topic matter was simple, 'present what your ideal self-managed business would be in the fullest detail from how it is run, what it is, and use what you've learned in class to further your findings'. But with something so simple, there was the expectation to make it more than just 'great' and 'simple'.  
Seijuurou was more than stressed out, with the time to work on it only being two weeks to get everything right and with time slowly dwindling away, every little detail needed to be perfect because getting that extra help and internship would surely set him up for life if swimming professionally didn't work out, and his chances of that were still uneven. This was his possible future, and Seijuurou wanted a steady source of income because not only did he want to support himself comfortably, he wanted to support Makoto as well when the time came that they would be living together happily with whatever Makoto decided to do.

  
" _Sei?"_

  
He glanced up at his computer screen, tired eyes landing on Makoto's worried face, head tilted to the side and frowning.

  
_"Are you sure you don't need any help? I've been watching you for the last hour and you've barely moved."_

  
Seijuurou smiled, propping his head up with a hand under his chin. "It's...I'll be fine, really. After just figuring all this stuff out, I then just have to work on the actual presenting part."

  
 _"But you said you really wanted that scholarship and your class is mostly upperclassmen."_ Makoto glanced over to his calendar. _"You have a week left, how far are you from being done?"_

  
"I just need a few more things to be fine-tuned. It wasn't enough that I was trying to think outside the box so I would stand out." He sighed. "I'd be fine with writing a paper or anything else, but presenting it?"

  
_"It's the fact that it's for a scholarship and other stuff, huh? You never get spooked like this when it comes to talking in front of people."_

  
"Could be." Seijuurou stretched his arms over his head and inhaled, feeling his lower back pop. "Don't know. Even if I get it or not, I still don't know what I'm doing and that's kinda important. I mean, I have some ideas, but I just can't decide and I don't want to choose the same thing as someone else."

  
_"I really don't think that anyone would have the same idea, though. Would they? Is it really that hard to think of something like this?"_

  
"Mako, if you had to do this, what would you choose?"

  
Makoto tapped his chin, humming. _"...Okay, maybe you're right, this is harder than it seems. It'd have to be something serious, huh?"_

  
"Yeah. So no kitten farms."

  
_"None at all?"_

  
"Nope."

  
_"Well...I'm all out of ideas, then. Sorry that I'm no help at all..."_

  
"Exactly. And it's fine, Makoto, really. I just need to think of that one thing that I know I can do the best and roll with it. I really don't have time left to really poke around anymore."

  
 _"Sei, maybe you should sleep on it for now. It's past midnight and the longer you stay up the more you're going to get frustrated._ " Makoto smiled at the redhead. _"So get some rest, okay? We can talk about this more tomorrow. I love you."_

  
"Yeah." He winked at Makoto, resting his arms back on his desk. "I guess I should get some sleep and start again fresh in the morning. Love you, too."

  
The redhead shut his laptop, yawning and went to lay in his bed. He sighed, pulling the comforter over him and staring at the ceiling, mind still buzzing with his presentation thoughts. Seijuurou bit the inside of his lip, trying to get at least one good idea before letting himself fall asleep, but still had no luck. He had a handful of ideas, ones that he could easily execute with no problem given the time left, but actually standing and presenting was the main challenge.

  
_A business presentation set on the actual foundation that any idea could be a plausible business...is that too far-fetched? Because it is true, and then I wouldn't be restricted to just that single idea...I guess it wouldn't hurt to really explore it, plus I did want to think out of the box and have a unique idea..._

  
"If only Makoto were in my class, he'd be able to calm me down..." Seijuurou muttered, and his eyes widened. "That's it!"

  
Seijuurou leaned over, grabbing his phone and squinted when the bright screen blinded him for a moment, quickly typing out a message to Makoto with a grin on his face.

  
_I'm going to see if you can sit in during my presentation. It's a longshot, but I have a feeling that if you're there, everything will work out smoothly. Kisses, sleep well!_

* * *

  
"So what you're asking me..." Seijuurou's business professor, Mr. Aiomi, raised an eyebrow. "...if you can have someone off-campus come in while you give your presentation?"

  
Students were letting themselves out of the classroom one by one, chatting away about their next class and plans later in the day. Seijuurou stayed behind to discuss his request with Mr. Aiomi, in hopes that he would say yes and it would all work out in his favor.

  
Seijuurou scratched the back of his neck, feeling the doubt coming from his teacher. "Yeah, pretty much. I know I have the material down, it's just that if I have him here I know that all my nerves will disappear and I'll do great!"

  
"Aren't you a pretty good swimmer, Mikoshiba?"

  
"I am, yes."

  
"And you swim in competitions all the time. You were a captain once. You should be used to stressful situations when tournaments and meets come up, and I know, comparing activities to educational presentations is a long shot, but in all the same when it comes to calming yourself to let out the best of your abilities." He pushed his glasses up, looking up at the redhead from his seat behind his desk. "So I think that having your guest come here would be unneccesary."

  
"But-!"

  
"But." Mr. Aiomi leaned back, shrugging his shoulders. "I've seen potential come from you, Mikoshiba. And if you say that you need someone here to aid you giving a presentation when I know that you could be fine on your own, seems strange."

  
Seijuurou's stomach dropped, knowing that the next words that would come out of his teacher's mouth would be no, and that he was still expecting one hell of a presentation. He lowered his head, listening to him go on about comparing more about studies to club tactics for some strange reason, waiting for the verdict of no to be spoken. Then he would have to tell Makoto that he couldn't come, and that would just make his anxiety increase.

  
"...In all, I suppose he could come."

  
He looked up, golden eyes wide and not believing what his professor had said. "So it's a yes?"

  
Mr. Aiomi chucked. "Yes. Now if you have the time, you can come with me and fill out the form for a in-class guest pass request form and since you said that it's a high school student, we'll fax it over to them and have his homeroom teacher and himself sign it and get this all out of the way."

  
A wide smile spread on Seijuurou's face as he tried to calm himself, his heart racing and all he wanted to do was to call Makoto right now and tell him the good news as he followed his teacher down the hall to the faculty office to get the paperwork done and sent to Iwatobi. The process didn't take all that long, just a quick signature and then they sent it right away to the high school that would be there in moments for Makoto to sign.

  
"Oh, and Mikoshiba?" Seijuurou turned around to see Mr. Aiomi leaning against a filing cabinet. "I now expect this presentation to be even more greater than I already expect it to be."

* * *

  
 _"I almost had a heart attack, you know!_ " Seijuurou could tell that Makoto was frowning as he held his phone to his ear. _"I thought that something had happened to the twins or my mom or dad! Haru was ruled out because I knew exactly where he was so he didn't do anything, but it really scared me!"_

  
Seijuurou rested his head against the wall of his dorm room. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. As soon as we signed it we sent it, I didn't check the time to see that you were-"

  
 _"Just starting practice? As soon as I got in the pool Gou came running saying that they needed me in the office_!" The redhead opened his mouth to speak, but Makoto spoke first. _"I barely had time to dry off, she just threw a towel at me and started pulling my arm!"_

  
"...But it's okay, right? You signed it?"

  
Makoto sighed. _"Yeah. I did. Of course I did."_

  
"So I was thinking, since it's on a Monday, and that class is late afternoon, so I was thinking, would you still want to come over for the weekend or should I come over and we can practice and all so you wouldn't have to waste any extra money and you could just leave during your lunch period?" Seijuurou bit his lip. "Or would that even match up with the train schedule...? Dammit..."

  
_"Sei, breathe. That barely made any sense because you're mumbling and you get extremely quiet and trail off when you mumble-"_

  
"I think that one leaves a bit before your free period, but I don't know. I could always just try my best and ask if I could go last so that would give you time?"

  
 _"Seijuurou..._ " Makoto groaned.

  
"But if you really wanted, I don't think that it would hurt all that much if you just stayed the weekend and then Monday and you can take the last train out because you would need to get home so you can get to school the next day-"

  
_"Seijuurou!"_

  
"A-ah, sorry, Makoto!"

  
_"As much as I know you're stressing out, I have some things I need to do, okay? We have time to figure out a plan so just sit back and relax for a bit. Remember that there's tea in the back of the cupboard and I know you don't like it all that much, but maybe you should make a cup and actually unwind for the rest of the day. Boyfriends orders."_

  
Seijuurou walked into the kitchenette area, opening the cupboard door and moving some things aside and raised an eyebrow when he found the small box of tea packets, just as Makoto said. "Did you put these here? I don't drink tea, and I don't think Aikawa likes this kind..."

  
 _"You haven't noticed? I usually make some when we study together even though I don't really prefer it either, it's still something that's quick._ " Makoto laughed. " _Wow, you really are out of it. I have to go and get some things done, but get some rest! Love you."_

  
"Love you, too."

  
He read the outside of the box, deciding if 'chamomile' would even taste good, and shrugged. Putting his phone in his back pocket, Seijuurou opened the box and took out a single packet, along with a single mug from the cupboard.

  
"If Makoto says to relax..." Seijuurou turned on the small water heater and leaned against the counter and stared at the items on the counter. "...I guess I might as well relax."

* * *

  
The weekend came quickly, and ended just as fast.

  
The couple had discussed their plans and had decided that Seijuurou would be the one to stay at Makoto's over the weekend and Makoto would leave Monday morning, Seijuurou bringing over all of his material that he needed to give the brunette a rundown of his presentation and the areas he needed to focus on first. Makoto had told the twins strictly that he and Seijuurou would be very busy and that going into his room was strictly off-limits until he said otherwise. But they were at least kind enough to bring the two swimmers snacks and water, claiming that the sugar would help them out.

  
As Seijuurou ran through his presentation multiple times over the course of two days with Makoto there giving him advice and looking through his notes with the occasional break with Makoto giving the redhead massages, feeding him cookies, and telling him that everything was going to work out and that all he needed was to be confident and he'll be fine.  
"And that you'll be there." He said as Makoto worked his fingers against his muscles. "You'll be there, and that's what'll calm me down the most."

  
Makoto just sighed and smiled, wrapping his arms around Seijuurou's middle and nuzzled the back of his neck. "Will me being there really make it better for you?"

  
"Sweetheart, if you're there I know for sure that if I see your face there as I speak because this is important, I have nothing to be nervous about. There's just something about you and your presence that calms me down more than anything else."

  
"Even if you mess up or forget things or don't even get that scholarship, everything will be just fine, you know." Makoto kissed the back of Seijuurou's neck and smiled. "I'm just...excited."

  
"Hmmm?"

  
"I get to see you really show your stuff outside of the pool for the first time. And you said that you're going to be in business casual as you talk?" Seijuurou nodded. "Then I guess it is a good thing that you want me there, because I won't be able to take my eyes off of you."

  
Seijuurou laughed, leaning back into Makoto. "Do you want to pick out what I wear?"

  
"I'll leave that to you, since you have good taste. Surprise me." Makoto let out a snort and grinned, smiling into Seijuurou's shoulder as he let his hands sneak under the redhead's shirt, fingers trailing over his toned stomach and tickling his boyfriend, moving his fingertips over sensitive skin.

  
"M-Mako, hey!" Seijuurou tried to hold back his laughter and struggle out of the brunette's grasp, failing miserably and with a sharp yelp he fell to the floor, pulling Makoto down with him and the youngest ending up on top of him.

  
"Seijuurou I'm so sorry!" Makoto tried to stop laughing from his position on Seijuurou, the redhead staring up at him with dazed golden eyes and a smile on his face. "Are you okay? You didn't hit your head on anything, did you?"

  
"Mako, I'm fine. No, wait. I'm perfect, just like you." He gently placed his hands on Makoto's cheeks, dragging the giggling swimmer down to kiss him.

* * *

  
Seijuurou Mikoshiba was once again, panicking.

  
He knew that he should have tried to convince Makoto to leave earlier, but the one thing he couldn't control was the train having issues that would delay all schedules. Seijuurou tried his best to contain that he was getting more and more nervous with each passing moment as he sat in his seat, listening to his classmates give their presentations that were already more than impressive, trying to restrain his legs from shaking, feet from tapping on the floor, and hands shaking as his eyes went from the student at the front of the room to the clock, and then back to his phone.  
Makoto had been texting him leaving frantic apologetic messages, keeping him informed with what was going on and that they had fixed the issue and he was going to be there as soon as he could. Seijuurou sent the directions to the building and what room number it was once again, taking a deep breath and hoping that he was going to show up and come through that door at any moment.

  
The presentations were impressive, something that he knew that would happen, because most of the other students in his class had running different businesses in their near future, and for Seijuurou it was an option. It interested the redhead, and he knew that it would be a career that he would know that he could at least do well, and he was also told by a handful of people that it suited him to head in that direction when he was deciding on what to do for a living.

  
The next thing he knew, another twenty minutes had passed and with no new messages from Makoto, Mr. Aiomi was calling his name and his heart jumped in his throat.

  
"Mikoshiba, you're up."

  
Seijuurou's mouth went dry as he collected his notes, standing from his seat and slowly standing to walk up to the front of the room. He tried his best not to appear nervous at all, taking deep breath after deep breath, glancing down at his papers and at the door.

  
_It's not Makoto's fault he isn't here right now, Seijuurou thought. So just...start and hopefully you'll do better than expected. There isn't anything going to stop you from doing this unless you faint and you better not._

  
As soon as he opened his mouth to speak, the door slowly creaked open, and a small, apologetic and familiar voice followed. He watched as Makoto made his way to his professor, whispering to the older man and definitely apologizing that he was late and that he was the one Seijuurou was talking about. A smile spread on his face as Makoto sat himself down in his seat, smiling back at the redhead. The brunette nodded, motioning for the redhead to start before he annoyed his professor with the delay.

  
"Alright." Seijuurou took another calming breath, before looking up at his classmates in their seats, his professor, and most importantly, Makoto, and felt his nerves slowly calm down. "My name is Seijuurou Mikoshiba, and my presentation is about the endless possibilities of businesses."

* * *

  
The couple sat themselves at the small table at the ice cream shop downtown, smiling and laughing. Seijuurou suggested that since it was finally over that they should go out and celebrate before Makoto had to go back home, because it was a monday after all, and Makoto was happy to agree. Makoto had offered to pay but Seijuurou had taken the brunette's wallet and put it in his pocket when he took out his own wallet, smiling down at Makoto and saying that he should save his money and it was his treat.

  
"You did amazing. Even though I knew what it was about and what you were going to say bit by bit, I couldn't take my eyes from you. If you said that you were nervous I would say that you were a liar because you seemed extremely confident. And handsome." Makoto held out his spoon out for Seijuurou to eat the ice cream from it. The redhead happily ate it, letting the chocolate melt in his mouth. "I'm still sorry about almost missing it though!"

  
"It's fine, Mako. And like I said, it's all thanks to you being there." He rested his hand on top of Makoto's and nudged the younger's foot underneath the table with his own. "At least you made it?"

  
"I almost walked into the wrong classroom because I couldn't remember if it was building one room twelve, or building two room twelve." His cheeks slowly turned pink. "And I even got mistaken for a student but as soon as she saw how lost I looked and showed her my pass, she understood and corrected my mistake and apologized."

  
Seijuurou laughed and put his own spoon out for Makoto to eat from. "Again? Maybe if you weren't so tall, sweetheart. I would probably mistake you for a college student too because of that."

  
There was a muffled "I can't help it!" that came from the brunette as he placed a hand over his mouth as he tried to swallow the ice cream in his mouth. Once the ice cream had melted and swallowed, he pouted at the redhead. "Besides, you said that you like that I'm tall!"

  
"And why is that?" Seijuurou grinned, putting his elbow on the table and resting his hand against his palm, watching Makoto's face turn redder.

  
"...Because you said that's perfect kissing height. Not too short, not too tall."

  
He laughed, leaning over the table to press their lips together.

  
"You got that right."


	24. Just Squiddin' Around

"Is he really coming?" Nagisa asked, adjusting the hem of Makoto's yukata. "You said he was coming with Rin, Nitori and the rest of the Samezuka guys, right?"

  
Makoto smiled, pulling up his sleeves a bit. "That's what he told me. He wanted to make sure that the new club captain he picked actually goes to the shrine because he heard that they were going to skip it from Nitori who overheard a few of the other members talking about it."

  
It was that time of year again where the squid festival was going on. This time around, all of the Iwatobi swim club members had decided on wearing their yukatas along with convincing some of the Samezuka members and most importantly to Makoto, Seijuurou was coming. Nagisa and Rei were more than relieved when they were told that they wouldn't be the only ones wearing yukata this year, saying that they would definitely need to get a group picture of them all together and copies would be made so that everyone would have one.

  
"You two look really great!" Nagisa beamed at Haruka and Makoto who were all ready to go and partake in festival activities who just smiled in thanks.

  
"Are we ready now?" Rei asked, glancing at his watch. "Rin and the others should be arriving any minute now, and we said that we would meet them at the shrine. Gou said that she and her friend would be too busy with volunteering this year that they can only see us if we stopped by the booth that they're at, apparently."

  
The threesome nodded, all grabbing their extra things that they would need through the night, wallets and fully-charged cellphones for picture use and if they were to split up they wouldn't have to worry about a dead battery. Stepping outside the scent of all of the food booths came upwind to the group of swimmers, both squid and sweets, and they quickly made their way to the station and discussing what they wanted to do first.

  
"I want to try out the games first! Build up an appetite first!"

  
"Maybe we should just look around first and then decide."

  
"Should we go see Gou?"

  
Makoto smiled at his group of friends chatting away as they entered the festival area, taking in the sight of all of the booths, lights, smells, and people around laughing and having fun. It had only begun an hour and a half ago, and Makoto's parents had taken the twins out when it had started to beat the massive crowds knowing that there would be more people as the evening progressed and that they would still be able to enjoy the festivities and get to bed on time.

  
His phone started buzzing in his pocket and Makoto was quick to answer, stepping off to the side and smiling when he saw that it was Seijuurou's number.

  
"Hey! You guys here yet?" Makoto pressed his free hand to his other ear, trying to block out the noise so that he would be able to hear the redhead.

  
_"Yeah, but we're stopping by the shrine first to get that out of the way. Should we just meet up somewhere?"_

  
"How about by the food stalls? Rei and Nagisa have been talking about what they wanted to try first, and I could always grab us something to eat."

  
_"Sounds great! See you in a bit, babe."_

  
Slightly picking up the sides of his yukata, Makoto jogged to catch up to his friends to tell them that Seijuurou and the others were here and where the captain would be waiting for the redhead. They all agreed and left to find the row of food vendors, trying to come to a decision on what looks the best to eat.

  
"Maybe we should all just get something different and then try everything." Haruka suggested, glancing down the line. "I'll be down there getting some of the tempura, and to save us a table."

  
"I'll go with you, Haru." Rei pushed up his sleeves slightly and followed Haruka through the mass of people while Nagisa and Makoto looked at the assortment of things listed.

  
Once they had placed and gotten their order (with Makoto holding Nagisa's squid burger and his own skewers over his head so that their plates wouldn't get bumped by someone and Nagisa agreed to go get drinks) and made their way back to Rei and Haruka who were patiently waiting for the other two swimmers to return. They took their seats, Nagisa next to Rei and Makoto next to Haruka, setting everything out and Nagisa resting the cold cans in the middle of the table to be taken by whomever wanted what. They made smalltalk, reaching over and trying each other's food, laughing when Rei almost choked when Nagisa swore that he would add walrus impressions to his list when he broke a skewer in half and put the ends in his mouth.

  
"Looks like you guys are having fun!"

  
Four heads glanced up and saw no one other than Seijuurou Mikoshiba leaning against the tent pole in a black and gold yukata, grinning at the swimmers. Makoto's face lit up as he made room for Seijuurou to sit down, face reddening when he wrapped an arm around his waist and kissed his cheek.

  
"You look really lovely, Makoto."

  
"Y-you do too, Sei."

  
"Alright, what do we have here?" Seijuurou looked down at the various food items on the table and picked up a stray skewer from Makoto's plate and took a bite.

  
"Squid tempura, squid burgers, squid rolls, and squid skewers." Makoto tilted his head to the side as Seijuurou dropped the stick, golden eyes widening and skin paling. "...Seijuurou, are you okay?"

  
In an instant Seijuurou jumped up from the table, four pairs of eyes watching as the freshman searched for the nearest bathroom of any kind. Three slowly turned to Makoto, who was just surprised and stunned as everyone else, as he excused himself from his friends to find his sick boyfriend and find out why he got up and ran like that. Makoto navigated his way through the crowd of people, trying to find a familiar mess of red hair amongst everyone and sighed when he couldn't see Seijuurou anywhere. He was about to turn around and go back to the table when he saw Seijuurou on a bench, holding his head in his hands and taking deep breaths.

  
"Sei!" Makoto called, relieved that he found the redhead and sat himself down next to him, placing a hand on his back. "What happened?"

  
"...I never told you that I didn't like squid because I thought it would ruin tonight." Seijuurou didn't look up at Makoto, keeping his gaze on the ground. "I should have told you sooner so that moment could have been avoided, but...figured that sort of thing isn't quite impressive."

  
"If you don't like squid, isn't the smell getting to you at all?" Makoto rubbed comforting circles on his broad back, frowning. "How did you even get through last year?"

  
"Well it's somewhat fine because it's being cooked and then there's a bunch of other things around too, y'know? But I don't know why, ever since I was little I could never stand squid." He sat up, resting his head on Makoto's shoulder. "Sorry I ran away like that."

  
"It's fine, really. At least now I know instead of having to go through this again, right?" Makoto gave a reassuring smile, kissing the top of Seijuurou's head. "At least I have a secret weapon now, though."

  
" _Please_ tell me that you aren't thinking of buying squid and trying to make me eat it whenever you're mad at me." Seijuurou turned his head and pouted at the brunette.

  
"Maybe..." Makoto laughed once he saw the sickened look on Seijuurou's face. "I'm kidding, really. Besides, I wouldn't even be able to cook it right, so you would be stuck with it raw."

  
Seijuurou shuddered, making a disgusted sound and squeezed Makoto's thigh. "Remind me to never piss you off, okay?"

  
"Deal. Now come on, the others are probably done eating by now. Do you want to try out some games or get something that you can eat without throwing up? And if we can't find anything that you want to eat it's no problem that we go back to my house and we can make something there."

  
"That'd be _wonderful."_

  
Makoto stood and helped Seijuurou to his feet, letting their hands stay together as they walked back to the group, seeing Rin and Nitori had joined them adorned in their own yukata.  
"Feeling alright?" Haruka raised an eyebrow at seeing the oldest redhead standing, skin looking slightly better than ten minutes ago.

  
"Way better. Now how about we have a little competition, here?" Seijuurou grinned, nodding off into the direction of where the game booths were. "How about we see who can get the most prizes by the end of the night and whoever does wins as many candied apples they can eat?"

  
"Yeah, I'd definitely say that you're feeling better." Makoto laughed as the group cheered and took the challenge.

* * *

  
"I should have known Haru would get the most..." Nagisa sighed, staring at his and Rei's prize pile next to everyone else's compared to Haruka's almost-mountain of various trinkets and plush prizes. "You always have to watch out for the silent ones!"

  
"You're just saying that because I beat you at the shooting game, Nagisa." Haruka shrugged. "You came close though. Better than Rin, which I congratulate you for. And Seijuurou, I'd prefer mackerel to candy apples, alright?"

  
"Hey!" Rin narrowed his eyes at Haruka. "We would have gotten more if-"

  
"-If you were actually good at these games." Haruka bluntly finished.

  
"What's that supposed to mean?!"

  
"You're bad at these things. And almost bribing your sister in to letting you win?"

  
"HEY!"

  
Nitori shuffled away from the two bickering swimmers towards Makoto, not daring take his eyes off of Rin in fear that the redhead would take out his claws in this soon to be catfight. He tugged on Makoto's sleeve, getting the swimmer's attention all while keeping his own eyes on his two friends.

  
"Is...this normal between them?"

  
Makoto only laughed, giving the young boy a reassuring smile. "It is. Just give him some space and he'll be fine. They just get...touchy when it comes to competitions and all that stuff. Oh, that's right!" The brunette turned to the right, holding out the small squid plush in his hands out to Seijuurou. "This is for you, Sei."

  
The oldest redhead's face slowly turned almost as red as his hair, accepting the prize with his heart beating against his chest. "But you won this fair and square, I was awful at that game and even that little kid beat me-"

  
"Seijuurou, but that's how things work. Couples win prizes for each other." Nitori smiled at his former captain. "It's cute, isn't it? I wish someone would win prizes for me, it'd be so nice..."

  
"Y-yeah..." He looked down at the smiling cartoon-esq plush in his hands, and then over at Makoto who now seemed worried at the intensity Rin was displaying. "Can you hold this for a second, Nitori? Sorry, I gotta go do something-" Quickly, Seijuurou handed off the soft squid to Nitori, jogging off back to the game stalls.

  
"Seijuurou, where- hey, hey you two!" Makoto's attention went from his boyfriend to his closest friends, walking towards a flailing Rin to remove Haruka's hand from his ear and sighed. "Come on, we're supposed to be having fun!"

  
"I am having fun." Haruka huffed.

  
"Come on, Haru! If I can't beat you at any of the games I can surely win at squid wrangling!"

  
"You're on."

  
"H-Haru, Rin, don't you dare!"

  
Soon enough Seijuurou returned, almost out of breath and trying to balance cotton candy and a small bag of goldfish in his hands, softly nudging Makoto in the side with his elbow. The brunette turned around and his worried expression changed to surprised, and he put out his hands to accept the bag of his new fish that his boyfriend had got for him.

  
"There. Now we both got each other something." Seijuurou smiled, offering a piece of pink sugar and the brunette eagerly took it.

  
"You didn't have to...!" Makoto smiled at the swimming goldfish, leaning against Seijuurou as he was fed more cotton candy.

  
Nitori handed the squid plush back to the redhead as well, smiling at the couple in front of him and turned to Nagisa who was trying to decide what was the best thing that he could give to Rei that wasn't a hair accessory or something obnoxiously pink.

  
"Hey Nagisa..." He whispered to the pondering blonde, who looked up at Makoto and Seijuurou and smiled.

  
Nagisa turned to Rei, tugging on his sleeve and pointed towards the couple and he couldn't help but smile as well and adjust his glasses. Slowly Nagisa found and took out his camera from his pocket, raising it at a un-suspicious level to take a picture of the two feeding each other cotton candy and trying to think of names for the newly acquired fish, the sound of the shutter unheard due to the levels of chatter around them.

  
"Beautiful."


	25. Chapter 25

It was time yet again for a movie night at Haruka's, and it was also the first time that Seijuurou would be seeing everyone together since the incident and fighting with Makoto. The redhead was nervous that they, being mainly Nagisa because Rei was more reserved and polite than the blonde, would ask questions about what had happened, why Makoto was so down and didn't mention him for that long, and he nor Makoto didn't want to tell the others the truth.

  
"But should we really lie about it?" Makoto frowned, on the walk from the train station to Haruka's home. "Maybe it would be easier if we just told them the truth, or just...you know, part of it? Because just going all out to lie about it when Rin and Haruka will be there, and since they're the only ones that know what happened..."

  
Even after they had made up, Haruka and Rin kept their mouths shut in regards to the situation. Before Makoto or Seijuurou had thought about asking them to just pretend like this whole ordeal never even happened, Haruka was the one to tell Makoto that he had nothing to worry about and it was no big deal. When Makoto had told Seijuurou about it, the redhead was more than relieved and wanted to show his thanks for his boyfriend's two closest friends, which brought on the decision of buying Haruka a month's supply of fresh mackerel and getting Rin brand new sneakers for his morning runs.

  
"Well..." Seijuurou sighed. "Let's just do it this way. If they ask, we could be vague? Because the only two people in that room that know what happened, and the truth at that, is Haruka and Rin. The only person that we have to worry about all the questions is Nagisa."

  
"So, the deal is that we act completely normal, and if Nagisa asks, we just say that there was an issue that is no longer relevant because we patched it up?" Makoto shrugged. "Foolproof? Or should I say Hazuki proof?"

  
"Sounds good to me? Other than that, it's just happy times and focusing on movies and having fun. Kisses, close cuddling, and eating snacks and smiling is all mandatory. Even for a second that I don't see a smile on your face, that's just an invitation for me to be able to kiss or tickle you to make that smile creep right back up on that pretty face of yours." The redhead poked Makoto in the side, grinning.

  
"Deal." Makoto hooked his pointer finger with Seijuurou's, swinging his arm slightly as they walked down the street to Haruka's. "At least we aren't watching anything scary this time. Instead, we're back to animated movies that are way better than scary ones and everyone promised that we can watch The Cat Returns first since it was my choice and everyone felt bad that I did get scared that one time..."

  
"Well I wouldn't say entirely better, but...it's nice to watch something refreshing once in awhile." Seijuurou let out a laugh. "And could you imagine if we ever got our hands on a cat themed horror movie? You'll be sleepless for days."

  
"Hey! I had nightmares for almost a week the last time we watched them!" Makoto sulked. "And please don't! Please!"

  
"Oh I know, you called me at three in the morning when it happened wanting me to come over, and when I said 'no, it's three in the morning Makoto and I'm hours away', and so I suggested that we just talk until you fell back asleep. If you started crying about how you think that Tama or any other cat was out to get you because it all of a sudden turned crazy and could kill people, oh boy..."

  
Makoto's cheeks grew pink, slightly nudging Seijuurou's shoulder. "One of these days you're going to be scared by something too, and you'll call me at three in the morning and I'll be the best boyfriend ever with calming you down."

  
"That's impossible, Mako."

  
"Why is that?"

  
The two stopped outside of the steps to Haruka's home, Seijuurou tilting Makoto's head up to press their lips together, parting with a smile on both of their faces.

  
"Because you're already the best boyfriend ever."

  
"Oi, lovebirds!" Makoto and Seijuurou turned towards the stone steps, seeing Rin and Nagisa standing; Nagisa with his eyes bright and smile wide, and Rin looking annoyed. "Hurry up and get inside!"

* * *

  
Two movies later and eagerly wanting to start the third ("Rei chooses Lion King!" Nagisa had said, sliding off of the couch to change discs), the group had taken a small stretch break and also took the chance to get rid of any spare garbage, and to refill the snack bowls.

  
Seijuurou and Makoto were relieved that so far, no awkward questions were asked about why Seijuurou came that day during practice to talk to Makoto, and why after Makoto was acting strange. Instead, seeming perfectly fine because that's how they felt, was the best cover-up to the worst days that they ever had. And maybe, the blonde had thought about respecting personal matters and even though that no matter how much he wanted to know what happened, he would let it go and would restrain himself from asking.

  
Or that Rei had told him that it might not be a good idea to ask.

  
Getting settled in again to start the movie and to end the looping title screen, there was a quiet knock at the door and Nagisa sprang to his feet.

  
"Pizza's here!"

  
In an instant Rin got up, beating the blonde to the door. The group exchanged glances and looks as they heard the two quietly bickering and Rin trying to contain himself as Nagisa kept on asking why he was acting so strange. A moment later Nagisa came back into the room and shrugged, sitting down next to Rei as they waited for Rin to come back to tell them what was going on.

  
"He _pushed_ you out of the way?" Rei raised an eyebrow, looking at Nagisa as he put a piece of spare chocolate in his mouth. "Seriously?"

  
Nagisa chewed what was in his mouth and swallowed before answering. "Yeah. He pushed me and braced himself against the door and said 'It's not for you, go sit back down! This is important!' and we went back and forth a bit before he agreed to pay for the pizza when it got here to make me finally go away and that's it."

  
"Wonder what that was all about, though."

  
"Whatever, I still get a free pizza. So it's all fine, I guess. No hard feelings!”

  
Rin cleaned his throat and the group looked up, seeing Nitori next to Rin, the two with their faces tinted red and looking as if they were wanting to confess something that they've been hiding for a long time. No one dared to speak for the longest time (which in reality was about half a minute) before Rin sighed.

  
"So...we have something to tell you guys." He glanced over to Nitori before nudging his arm against his, letting their fingers brush against each other before lacing together and giving a slight squeeze. "We're...well, dating now. Have been for about...what, a week and a half now?" Nitori nodded in confirmation, face getting redder.

  
“We felt like telling you now would be the best!” Nitori added. "Instead of having to tell each of you guys seperate or having to find out from hearing it from someone else, we decided that today with you all here was the perfect opportunity!"

  
The only action given was Makoto outstretching his hand to Seijuurou with a slight smile, which made the redhead sigh and shift to take out his wallet from his back pocket, grumbling about how he was going to use that money for Makoto anyways, but not like this. The action also made Nagisa pull out a few bills of his own to give to Makoto, the Iwatobi captain having an obvious 'I told you so' look on his face as he put the given money in his own wallet.

  
"Wha...you guys bet on this?!" Rin sputtered, sitting down next to Nitori on the floor and staring wide-eyed at his friends. "Why the hell-"

  
"Oh we all knew it was coming." Makoto smiled down at Rin. "The bet was actually to see how long it was until it happened. And I won, with before graduation. Those two, however..." He gestured towards Seijuurou and Nagisa. “They decided on something together. Rei and Haru only discussed it, but didn't place any bets.”

  
"Man, I was on Nagisa'a side in hoping that there was going to be a movie style confession and everything once Rin was outta Samezuka." Seijuurou and Nagisa glanced at each other before letting the dramatics bubble up and Seijuurou let his arm reach out for Nagisa over Makoto's chest and barely brushing against Rei's shoulder and he threw his head back and batted his eyelashes. "Oh Ai, I'm stupid and know that you're the best thing in my life, date me already! I swear I won't bite!"

  
"Oh senpai, I've been wishing that this would happen for months, of course I'll date you! You just made me the happiest kohai alive!" Nagisa did similar actions and he two laughed, earning a sigh from Rin.

  
"But how did it really happen?" Haruka raised an eyebrow. "Please tell me that's not how it actually happened-"

  
"Oh no, not at all, Haruka!" Nitori smiled. "We just...got to talking about it and then one thing lead to another, and it just sort of...happened and here we are. And I'm really happy, too! We're going on our second date tomorrow afternoon!"

  
"Rin, this kid is in your care now." Seijuurou nudged Rin's back with his foot. "I trust that you'll make him happy, right?"

  
Rin nodded, smiling slightly when Nitori squeezed his hand. Red eyes glanced over to look at Haruka, a grin spreading on his face. "I guess that means that we all have to play matchmaker for Haru now, don't we?"

  
"Please don't."

  
"Oh come on, I know some people that might be perfect for you-"

  
"Rin I said no-"

  
"I know some guys from Samezuka or there's some of my sister's friends if you're not too picky..."

  
"Rin!"

  
"Haru's blushing!" Nagisa laughed. "Cute!"

  
"What if we set up Haru with Aikawa?" Seijuurou leaned over slightly to whisper into Makoto's ear as his friends quarreled. "I know that he's having trouble finding someone and we could always say that your friend Haruka is perfectly single..."

  
"That seems mean though!" Makoto frowned. "He would act like everyone else in thinking that Haru is a girl and when he finds out that he's a guy..."

  
Seijuurou shrugged, trying to picture his roommate and Haruka together. "What would they even do together? I don't think that they really have anything in common..."

  
"Don't worry, if we have to find someone for him or he does it on his own, I know that he'll find the perfect person to make him happy."

  
"...He has to go through you first along with everyone else, huh?"

  
"You got it."

  
Seijuurou looked over at Makoto, holding out his free hand and grinned. "New bet? Nanase finds someone to date within a year? We'll smooth out the details later."

  
Makoto freed his own hand from between Seijuurou's back and the couch, shaking Seijuurou's hand firmly with a similar grin on his face. "Deal."

* * *

  
Rin and Nitori were the ones to leave first, having to get back to Samezuka before curview was up and to get enough rest for their practice in the morning. Soon after Nagisa and Rei left, the two having to hurry with the last train of the night leaving within minutes, leaving Seijuurou and Makoto to help Haruka clean up. Seijuurou and Haruka were in the kitchen cleaning the counters and other things, while Makoto straightened up the living room.

  
"Surprised that Nagisa didn't say anything?" Haruka said, putting the cups in the sink. “With as much sugar he consumed today in just that sitting, I’m surprised that he was fairly...tolerable in terms of speaking.”

  
"Kinda, yeah." Seijuurou scratched the back of his neck, leaning against the counter. "He looked over at me and Mako a few times, and I felt that he wanted to say something."

  
Haruka shrugged. "I have a feeling that he might say something to Makoto one on one, because I'm sure he doesn't have your number so this was one of his chances to say something to at least you. Maybe he'll even come to me, but who knows. Maybe we're al just overthinking all of this."

  
"I remember he almost got my number, though. Apparently he tried to get it from Nitori a week or so after Makoto and I started dating." The redhead chuckled, taking the bag of trash out of the trashcan and replaced it with a new bag. “But it’s fine. Really. I’m starting to like that kid, aside from his loud personality. And voice. That’ll take more time.”

"Don't you feel bad keeping it from those two, though? Nagisa and Rei, I mean. Even Gou, because only two people, well...three, actually because of your roommate, know the nitty gritty details of it all."

  
"Well..." Tying the bag off, he rested it against the can and stepped towards the sink to wash his hands. "I don't know Nagisa or Rei all that well, yet. Unlike you, or Makoto. And Aikawa is so laid back and a nice guy and well, my roommate so I do see him quite frequently and he's someone to talk to and is understanding and all. Makoto and I talked and we agreed that if one of them does ask that we'll tell them, just not the whole story."

  
"What, like just that something happened, you two fought, and then made up?"

  
"Simple as that." Seijuurou's eyes were focused on the blue towel drying his hands. "I just want to forget that I was stupid enough to do that and everything else that happened, and Makoto feels the same."

  
Haruka was silent for a moment, mouth twitching slightly as if he wanted to say something but instead wanted to keep it in, until finally with a sigh, he turned to look at Seijuurou.  
"Makoto really loves you, you know."

  
Seijuurou opened his mouth to speak, but Haruka beat him to it.

  
"It...helps that I've known him for most of my life. But just the way his eyes light up whenever he talks to you, or the genuine smile on his face when he tells me about the last time he and you went on a date or you did something that he liked." Haruka paused. "And when that...incident happened, he was crushed, and I knew it. He changed, even though he didn't think he was showing it. But as soon as you two made up, those little things that I've noticed changed too."

  
"Haru-"

  
"Not in a bad way, Seijuurou. He's happier, I can tell. Because he thought that he was really going to lose you, but instead it all worked out for the better."

  
The redhead breathed in relief, and Haruka continued.

  
"I'm his best friend, and all I want is him to be happy and to have the best. I can only do so much, and so can Rin. Or Nagisa and Rei. Or even his own family." Haruka glanced up and smiled at the older boy. "And I know that you can make him the happiest. To he honest, I'm more than glad that you two made up, because I don't even want to imagine how he would be without you in his life."

  
A wide grin spread on Seijuurou's face and he outstretched his arms to pull Haruka for a hug, trying his best not to squeeze the young swimmer as hard as he could. But enough to get his point and happiness across.

  
"Thank you, Haruka. It means a lot to me, it really does."

  
"Just don't do anything stupid again, okay?" Haruka was muffled by Seijuurou's shoulder.

  
"I won't. I promise, for both Makoto and you."

  
A small laugh made its way to Seijuurou and Haruka's ears and they both turned their heads to see a smiling Makoto standing in the doorway, arms crossed and head cocked slightly.

  
"I never thought that I would ever see this for quite a while, really. But I'm glad you two are getting along so well."

  
Seijuurou detatched himself from Haruka, muttering a 'sorry' and a shrug from the smaller boy. Makoto walked over, wrapping his arms around Haruka to give his best friend a hug as well, but a brief one.

  
"How much did you hear?" Haruka asked, busying himself with putting the clean dishes away.

  
Makoto only kept on smiling, leaning against Seijuurou's chest. "I heard enough to know that I still have the best boyfriend and best best friend in the entire world, and I'm incredibly lucky and extremely happy."


	26. All That Glitters Is Just Goldfish

Seijuurou's pencil tapped against Makoto's open textbook, golden eyes watching Makoto's face change as he struggled with the English text in front of him. It was a perfect day to study outside and with Seijuurou's suggestion to help Makoto a bit with his homework, the brunette agreed and found themselves sitting in the grass, the sun and cool breeze being the perfect aid to the two swimmers. He didn't mind helping Makoto with a struggling subject, it just took more patience and it made him happy that he could help his boyfriend better himself at bettering himself at something that he's doubtful of getting right. Sometimes the redhead was the brunette's confidence, and even though Seijuurou would just deny it because Makoto was already full of confidence and more, it made his heart swell that he truly was that important to Makoto.

  
"Now this," Seijuurou leaned forward slightly, pointing to the next sentence. _"It is a nice day and the sky is blue."_

  
 _"I-It is a_ -" Makoto paused, trying to grasp the sounds and syllables. ". _..n...nice day..."_

  
"And?"

  
" _And the sky...is b-blue._ "

  
The redhead smiled, kissing the side of Makoto's head. "That was close to fluent, sweetheart. Just a bit more practice and you'll be talking perfect English in no time. And then you could be better than Rin."

  
"I hope so...and better than Rin? That's setting the bar pretty high." Makoto sighed, removing the book from his lap and set it next to him. "I'll be right back, okay?"

  
With a groan Makoto stood up, stretching slightly and disappearing into his home. Seijuurou grabbed the textbook from the grass, flipping through it to find another easy section to help Makoto with next, but instead his eyes got caught on a small shrine-like area and raised an eyebrow at such an odd thing to have in a backyard, and why he's never noticed it until now.

  
He heard the door slide open again, turning his head in hopes that Makoto had come back but instead was Mrs. Tachibana holding a tray with drinks and snacks on it.

  
"Makoto's helping Ren and Ran with something, he said that he would try to be out again as soon as he could." Asako smiled at the redhead, setting the tray on the ground next to Seijuurou. "He asked me to take these out for him because he thought that you were getting thirsty."

  
"Um, Asako?" Seijuurou asked and nodded his head towards what he was looking at. "What...exactly is that, over there?"

  
"Oh, Makoto didn't tell you?" The blank look on Seijuurou's face was a good enough answer for Mrs. Tachibana. "It's a grave, for his old goldfish."

  
"Goldfish...?" Makoto had mentioned goldfish once before, but nothing overly specific like the small grave in his backyard. "But why?"

  
She crouched down, resting on her knees and turned to Seijuurou. "Well...I know it would be better to hear it from Makoto himself, but if he hadn't said anything yet..." Asako tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "It was when Makoto was little, and there was this kind fisherman..."

* * *

  
Golden eyes stared up at the ceiling, recalling what Makoto's mother had told him earlier. His heart ached, imagining how scared, how sad Makoto must have been, and especially for it to happen when he was young.

  
"Why didn't Makoto tell me any of that...?" He frowned. "Could he be embarassed about it or something? Of course Haruka would know...and maybe Nagisa and that blue-haired kid...what about Rin?" Makoto had told Seijuurou about Rin in the past, how they were all friends and what had happened with him and Haruka racing, all the history behind that, and then up until the present time when they had finally gotten along again.

  
"But why didn't they just talk about it?" Seijuurou raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Instead he just made himself seem like a huge jerk."

  
Makoto only smiled, playing with the hem of the shirt he was wearing. "I don't understand it either, but that's how those two have always been around each other. But what matters is that everything is resolved now, and we're all friends again."

  
"You know, I don't think I'll ever understand Matsuoka." With a sigh he ran a hand through his hair. "All I know is that he needs to stop scowling all the time with those scary teeth showing."  
The redhead rubbed at his face, groaning and trying to think of anything else other than a sad, young Makoto in his mind. He remembered that his mother had told him that if something was stuck thinking about something the best way would be to talk about it until he was satisfied and could easily go on and think about something else. Seijuurou found his phone that was temporarily lost in his blanket, opening it to send a quick message to Rin and sighed.

  
_Come over for a sec? Gotta talk about something._

  
He waited for almost exactly three minutes before there was a knock at his door, and Seijuurou got up from his bed, opening the door to see Rin standing with his arms crossed, hair a mess as if he was already in bed. The captain let him in, closing the door once he was in the room and Rin seated himself in Seijuurou's desk chair, Seijuurou retreating back to his bed.

  
"Well? What is it?"

  
Seijuurou sighed, resting his elbow against his knee and put his head against his hand. "You...knew about the goldfish thing, right? With the fisherman, and when he died, all of that?"

  
"This is what you wanted to talk about?" Rin sounded slightly annoyed. "Makoto and fish?"

"Makoto's mom was the one to tell me about it."

  
Rin's face softened, unfolding his arms to rest his hands in his lap. "Oh."

  
"Oh is right. Why didn't he tell me himself?"

  
"I don't know, Makoto's...weird sometimes. Even now. Maybe because he knew that he would have to tell you about the water thing-"

  
"...What water thing?"

  
"He seriously didn't tell you that, either?" Rin scoffed.

  
Seijuurou was starting to get confused. "No, seriously, what water thing?"

  
"Well it has to do with the fisherman thing." Rin sighed. "I mean, Makoto didn't tell me at first either, because it was when we were starting to become friends again, but after that apparently it like...messed with his head or something."

  
"How?" Seijuurou leaned forward. "Like...what, he didn't get like a phobia or something, did he?"

  
"Scared of the ocean, yeah. That's exactly what happened." Rin simply shrugged. "But the kid still swam even with that hanging over his head."

  
"Why wouldn't he tell me that either?" Seijuurou fell back on his bed, legs dangling off from the edge. "Eugh, Makoto, I swear..."

  
"But you love him, so shut up." Rin rolled his eyes. "But I was really surprised y'know, because they showed up to train too on that island and my first thought was if Makoto was really okay with it. And I thought that it was weird that they opted to sleep on the beach and when I saw that they were sleeping on the shore in their swimsuits when I was jogging in the morning..."

  
"Why don't I know anything about this?" Seijuurou whined. "I think it's important, don't you? And I'm his boyfriend and all-"

  
"And then I had to find out weeks later, after we all made nice, that he almost fucking drowned trying to save that Ryugazaki kid from drowning because he thought that it would be so smart to go out at night by himself with no one knowing-"

  
"Wait." Seijuurou sat back up, staring at Rin with wide eyes, paling. "What?"

  
Rin sighed again. "Should I just stop and let Makoto tell you all of this himself? I feel like I should stop because this is a touchy subject."

  
"Maybe." Seijuurou just shrugged. "I...don't know?"

  
With a groan Rin got up from Seijuurou's chair, resting a hand on his captain's shoulder. "Well you'll be seeing him in a few days for joint practice. Ask him then? Could be better in person. Would love to stay and chat some more about things your boyfriend hasn't told you, but it's getting late and I was going to sleep until s _omeone_ woke me up."

  
Seijuurou looked down at his phone and heard Rin close the door behind him, biting the inside of his cheek. He hesitated, reaching out and wanting to call Makoto, but instead left it alone and layed back down in bed with a heavy sigh.

  
"After practice it is."

* * *

  
"Oi! I know you can dive better than that!" Seijuurou clicked the stopwatch around his neck, groaning when he saw the time that his teammate had gotten. "You feeling okay? Because I know for sure that you can cut this time in half easily."

  
"Sorry, captain!"

  
"Just make sure you definitely improve your time, alright? Next up!"

  
The redhead sighed as the next swimmer stepped onto the block. He didn't hate doing time trials, it was just that it took up quite a bit of time to get through all of his swimmers and make sure that they're doing their absolute best. Seijuurou understood that sometimes they had bad days, like the last member did, but with a small competition an arm-reach away, he needed to make sure that everyone was in top-condition.

  
He blew the whistle and started the stopwatch as the swimmer dove into the water, watching closely as he stroked through the water and turned once he got to the end of the pool. Stopping the time once his head breached the water, Seijuurou gave an approving nod and looked to the group that still needed to be timed. Golden eyes found the Iwatobi team just mere lanes away, listening as Gou was finishing up rallying off numbers and schematics. Gold found green and the other captain smiled at him, giving a slight wave before his attention going back to the younger Matsuoka.

  
Seijuurou sighed, feeling the weight of asking Makoto about the goldfish, and what had happened during the training camp coming from the back of his mind. When he had arrived with his team Seijuurou had asked if Makoto could stay after for a little while, not mentioning exactly what he wanted to talk about and Makoto happily agreed with a smile and kiss, saying that it was fine as long as he wouldn't be late to catch the last train home.

  
_Oh hey Mako, thanks for telling me about your large bodies of water fear, nice._

  
_Does that mean we can't go to the beach together? Or is it fine now?_

  
_Why didn't you tell me sooner? You swim almost every day, and with Nanase around it's like you're always around water. Why?_

  
_I'm your boyfriend, Makoto. I should know these things._

  
_You're important to me, what if I didn't know and you had a nightmare or...worse, if you were to almost drown again?_

  
Snapping out of his thoughts he shook his head, he blew the whistle signaling for the next member to come on up and be timed, and once again for him to dive. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the Iwatobi team getting ready to start timing on their own and a tall, familiar brunette walking towards him. Seijuurou smiled, the whistle loosely hanging from his mouth and raising his arm to greet his boyfriend, but his smile slowly fell when he saw Makoto stumble and with a yelp he fell into the pool, everything moving almost as if it was playing in slow motion from the moment Makoto slipped to when he hit the water. Seijuurou's eyes widened, ripping the stopwatch from his neck and raced to dive into the water, heart racing as he scrambled to pull Makoto to the surface.

  
Sputtering and trying to breathe normally, Seijuurou put his hands on Makoto's cheeks, staring into dilated green eyes and swallowed the lump in his throat. He only tried to ignore how tight his chest felt and the tears stinging the corners of his eyes as he watched Makoto's chest heave and his body shake.

  
_Please, PLEASE be okay..._

  
"Makoto are you okay? Are you hurt?" He pulled Makoto to the edge of the pool to the shallow end, so that they could stand. "Can you breathe? Do I need to take you to the infirmary-"

  
"I-I'm fine, really, I just fell is all-" Makoto coughed, giving Seijuurou a reassuring smile but his face twisted in pain once he applied pressure to his leg.

  
"Makoto!" Seijuurou looked at Nitori, eyes wide and frantic. "Help me out here, Ai!"

  
"R-right!"

  
Nitori sped on over, outstretching his arms to help Makoto get out of the pool carefully. Once they had him so that he was sitting on the edge, Seijuurou pulled himself out, crouching down to sling Makoto's arm over his shoulder so that he would be the one supporting most of his weight off of his injured leg.

  
"I expect for the rest of you to be timed by the time I get back." He nodded towards the small silver-haired boy.

* * *

  
Seijuurou watched as the nurse checked and bandaged Makoto's leg, confirming that nothing was broken (but could have easily have had more damage leading to a fracture), the brunette had just slammed it against the edge of the pool and that he would be fine within a few days as long as he didn't get back in the pool until he was checked again and he was confirmed to be alright. Once she had left Seijuurou alone with Makoto to make the incident report (and to come back to have both boys sign it, with Makoto being the one injured and Seijuurou being the captain and the one who acted on it), the redhead placed a hand on the bangaged leg, trying to not apply heavy pressure.

  
"Hey..." He started, staring into half-lidded green eyes. "That painkiller kicking in?"

  
Makoto nodded, leaning his head against Seijuurou's shoulder. "Thanks...I guess I'm more clumsy than I thought, huh? Sorry for ruining practice."

  
"It was just an accident, it's fine. Everything's fine, really. I'm just...really relieved that you're okay."

  
The brunette just hummed, staring at his bandaged lower leg.

  
"I know we agreed to talk after practice, but I guess it came a bit sooner, huh? And this is probably not the best time to mention it because you're hurt and look like you can fall asleep at any moment, but..." Seijuurou wrapped his arm around Makoto's waist and sighed. "...Your mom told me about your goldfish and the fisherman because I asked about the little grave in your yard, and Rin told me about what happened during the training camp to confirm it all." He felt Makoto stiffen against him, and the redhead sighed. "To be honest I was a bit irritated that you didn't tell me something important like that, but it's okay."

  
Makoto was silent for a moment before speaking.

  
"...You don't think it's stupid, do you?"

  
The Samezuka captain was almost stunned that Makoto would say something like that. "Makoto, no, why would I think that it's stupid?"

  
He only shrugged against Seijuurou. "It's just been with me this long and to tell someone who...I really like, who is brave all the time to be dating someone who is sentimental about goldfish and is afraid of the ocean and then is also scared of well, scary stuff, really...I don't know..."

  
"Makoto Tachibana." Seijuurou rested his chin on Makoto's shoulder, pulling him close. "It's not stupid at all, and who says that I'm brave all the time?"

  
"It's just that, you're so confident most of the time-"

  
"Mako." Seijuurou smiled and kissed Makoto's skin, tasting chlorine. "I swear, what am I ever going to do with you?"

  
"What's that supposed to mean?"

  
"Remember when we watched scary movies at Haruka's house? I don't know if you were trying to block out the entire conversation, but we all started talking about what was scarier, and as soon as Haruka mentioned something about ghosts and thought that for a week his house was haunted I wanted to get out of there was fast as I could."

  
"...Are you serious? Ghosts?"

  
Seijuurou nodded, feeling his cheeks heat up. "And...of course, there's one other thing I'm afraid of, too."

  
Makoto tilted his head so he was looking down at Seijuurou, eyebrow raised. "What?"

  
"I'm afraid of losing you. As soon as you fell into the pool, I didn't know what to do other than jumping right in to make sure that you were okay, because of the chance that I might lose you."

  
The Iwatobi opened his mouth to say something, heart beating rapidly against his chest but the nurse had come back in the room with a clipboard and smiled at the two swimmers. He felt Seijuurou squeeze him again, but letting an arm loose so he could grab the clipboard with a nod. 

* * *

  
"Nanase, make sure he gets home safe, alright?"

  
Haruka nodded, adjusting the strap of his backpack and his grip on his and Makoto's swim bags. Seijuurou turned back to Makoto, brushing his bangs from his face and sighed.   
"I'll call you when I get back home." Makoto smiled, easing into Seijuurou's hand. "Please don't worry too much, I'm in good hands from here on out."

  
"Alright, I trust you two..." Seijuurou leaned forward, pressing their lips together. "I'll check your leg at the next joint practice to make sure that it's healed properly."

  
"Looking forward to it." Makoto hesitated pulling away, biting his lip. "...Sei?"

  
"Yeah?"

  
Makoto wrapped his arms around Seijuurou, hugging him and buried his face into his shoulder.

  
"I'm afraid of losing you, too."


	27. Chapter 27

_Good morning Seijuurou, happy anniversary! I can't wait to see you later. I love you <3_

  
Makoto smiled as he watched the text send, along with attaching his favorite picture of them together. He woke up earlier than usual to beat Seijuurou to both the good morning text and to say happy anniversary because the redhead always would send their morning texts first, no matter what occasion. Birthdays, tests, anniversaries, appointments, dates; anything that had any significance Makoto would wake up in the morning, check his phone, and there would be a text from Seijuurou regarding what was happening for the day. It was their one year anniversary, and Makoto couldn't believe it that it came sooner than expected while Seijuurou had just laughed and said, "That's just love, sweetheart. Time goes by faster when you're either having fun or in love and we've been having both.". Seijuurou had asked if Makoto wanted to do something special and all the brunette had said is that dinner and time on the beach would be special enough and that he didn't have to worry about doing anything over the top as long as they were together. After all, Seijuurou's spare money budget wasn't the biggest and Makoto didn't want him to use all of it on him when the redhead could spend it on more important things. Of course, when Makoto said that, Seijuurou only laughed again because _"Makoto is important, too. And I love to spoil you."_

  
_"Mako, it's our one year anniversary. It's pretty special, don't you think?" Seijuurou said when he called Makoto a week before, asking for the final time for their date and seeing if his boyfriend had anything else in mind. "Flowers? Getting hand-written letters delivered by Tama? A mountain of chocolates? C'mon, any other ideas? It's like your birthday and my birthday and like...Christmas combined, it's gotta be memorable!"_

  
_The brunette just laughed, taking off his school blazer with his phone cradled between his shoulder and cheek. "It's fine. I have a feeling that you're going to do something sneaky, but you really don't have to. Even if we just stayed at my house or at yours, I would still have a good time-"_

  
_"That's like telling Haru to not jump into a pool, babe!"_

  
_"You know, you still haven't told me what you wanted at all. I want to do something special for you, too!"_

  
_"Ah, it's fine. Just having you happy and smiling on our date is the best present of all, I think."_

  
He was more than happy that Seijuurou was staying over at his parents for the weekend as well so that Seijuurou wouldn't have to sit for hours on a train, so with the saved time they could spend most of the day together. Although both boys had things to do for the morning and early afternoon which almost defeated the purpose of Seijuurou being home, their plans were set for the early evening and from there Makoto was looking forward to seeing what Seijuurou had planned. All the redhead had said was that he should wear nice clothes and that he would be at the Tachibana's front door at five o'clock on the dot.

  
Makoto had also gotten messages from Rin and Nagisa. Both relatively the same, regarding about what Seijuurou had planned and asking for 'all of the details' as Nagisa had put it, but when he said that he didn't know it just made the butterflies in his stomach grow when he thought about what he and his boyfriend were going to do in only a few hours.

  
"You need to calm down, Makoto." His mother had said, smiling at him. "Everything is going to be fine and you both will have a wonderful time out. Seijuurou is a charming boy, and he loves you more than anything."

  
"I know..." Makoto looked at the picture of himself and the redhead on his desk. "Did you feel the same way with dad? Like-"

  
"Your stomach is constantly housing butterflies and you feel like you're walking on air whenever you think or talk about that person, and it's just worse when you're around them? Oh of course." She laughed, leaning against her son's open door. "I feel the same even now."

  
Through the day, while Makoto busied himself with a last-minute assignment, cleaning and laundry, texting Seijuurou almost constantly, getting more excited with seeing the numbers on the clock change and get closer to five. The redhead tried to give small hints to where they were going to be going, mainly dinner hints, but Makoto was starting to figure out that maybe he listened to him and that they were just going to have dinner and actually going to the beach afterwards. Which was fine, but there was still the sneaking suspicion that there was more to their date agenda.

  
_You said that you liked my green shirt and striped tie, right?_

  
_I really like you in that purple shirt you have!_

  
_I would ask to see what you're wearing but I want it to be a surprise. But all I know is that you're going to look damn handsome regardless!_

  
_On my way, better be ready to be whisked away for one of the best nights of your life!_

  
_MAKOTO THERE'S A GOLD AND GREEN RIBBON ON TAMA IT'S ONE OF THE MOST ADORABLE THINGS I HAVE EVER SEEN OH GOD_

  
Makoto nervously sat in the living room, his foot tapping against the ground and eyeing his black shoes by the front door and the clock. It was three 'til five, and if Seijuurou was right, he was minutes away from knocking at the door. He had decided to listen to the redhead and wore his dark purple shirt with his slacks and a simple black tie, and the cherry on top being that he slicked his hair slightly to almost mimic Seijuurou's always styled red locks. Thoughts ran through his mind at a fast pace that made time go by even slower and made him become more anxious; do I look good enough, maybe I have time to change again, did I use too much cologne, what if something happens and he's late-

  
A knock at the door snapped him out of his thoughts and looked at the clock, and low and behold, it was five. Makoto jumped up, stopping to adjust his tie, grab his jacket and slide on his shoes and opened the door, the sight of the redhead leaning in the doorway enough to take his breath away. Seijuurou was grinning at him, adorning the green shirt with matching tie like he said, jacket slung over his shoulder, looking as if he had practiced that pose before knocking. His golden eyes widened and jaw dropped slightly when he saw Makoto all dressed up and his hair styled, face reddening.

  
"You look..." Seijuurou paused. "... _Amazing_."

  
"So do you. But you always look good..." Makoto couldn't help but feel his face redden at his words as he slipped into his shoes and stepped outside, closing the door behind him. Seijuurou straightened his posture, outstretching his arm to link with Makoto's and to join their hands together at their sides and gave his boyfriend a quick peck on the lips. "So where are we headed? Can I know now?"

  
"You'll see when we get there." He winked at the brunette. "But for another hint, it's somewhere that you've always said you wanted to go and eat."

  
"You mean that one place that's always busy and you have to make reservations way ahead in advance?" Makoto looked at the redhead, a smug look on his boyfriends face. "You didn't!"

  
"Reserved a table for two about a month ago. So yes, I did." Seijuurou grinned. "Happy anniversary, babe."

  
"You're amazing!"

  
"I know, I know. I hear that from the appetizers to the desserts, it's mouth watering. Apparently my parents went there forever ago and when I said that we were going, and they even wanted to make reservations of their own because immediately they remembered how amazing everything was." The oldest laughed. "And you don't have to worry about a single thing, okay? If I see you take your wallet out I won't hesitate to grab it right out of your hands and not give it back until we leave."

  
Makoto frowned. "At least let me pay for some of it? Please? It's really expensive and you need to really start handling your money better!"

  
"Hmmm..maybe-" Seijuurou's expression softened at Makoto's pout. "Alright, alright. Please stop making that face, it's breaking my big 'ol heart. Today is supposed to be a happy day!"

  
"I know, I know..." Makoto nudged Seijuurou's shoulder. "I love you, Seijuurou."

  
"I love you too, Makoto..." Seijuurou stuck his tongue out. "...even though you beat me to the happy message this morning."

  
Makoto leaned over, pressing his lips to Seijuurou's cheek. "And the flowers."

  
"That's right, I wonder how that bouquet ended up on my doorstep and had a cute little drawing of an orca and a narwhal on the card..."

  
"It's not like I went out and put it there after I texted you..."

  
Seijuurou gripped Makoto's tie, pulling him off of the stone pathway and behind the line of trees, pressing his back gently against the wooden trunk and kissed the brunette breathless.

* * *

  
Dinner was filled with smiles, laughter, and the best meal that either swimmer had ever had out. They've been to dozens of restaurants together, around Iwatobi, Samezuka and Kyoto, but none of them could compare to this fine dining experience.

  
It was better than they had expected, sharing off of their plates, getting lost in each other's eyes, bumping their feet under the table, and in the end Seijuurou and Makoto had split the check over a slice of decadent chocolate cake to finish off their dinner. It had taken more time to get up from the table than they thought, the food sleepiness trying to kick in, but Seijuurou had fought it off to make tonight even better and lead the brunette out of the restaurant to the next destination: the beach. The moon hung high in the sky and the redhead had offered to hold Makoto's shoes for him, but he just smiled, shook his head, and said that it would be no problem to hold them as they walked along the shoreline, hand in hand with their shoes dangling in the other.

  
"See, I wish I could cook like that." Makoto sighed. "Instead if I were to try, you'd be sick for days and would lock up every kitchen supply ever from me for the rest of my life."

  
"Well whenever you like, I'll try to make that pork for you. Maybe when you graduate soon? And I can teach you a few more things, if you want to." Seijuurou smiled when he saw the excited sparkle in Makoto's green eyes. "And that _cake_ , oh man."

  
"We should have asked if we could have just bought an entire one instead of just that slice! I would be totally okay with just going back home and eating it while watching something random on tv to finish the night off."

  
Seijuurou laughed, pulling Makoto over to the nearest bench so that the two can rest for a bit and set their shoes down. The redhead squeezed Makoto's hand, running his thumb over his knuckles, staring out at the waves rolling against the sand and the moon reflecting in the water. There was a slight breeze, not too chilly, and it was silent aside from the seagulls lingering around and the motion of the water. A perfect evening setting for the most perfect day and the most perfect anniversary date.

  
"Sei?" Makoto's voice was quiet, and if he spoke any softer he would have been drown out by the sound of the waves.

  
"Yeah, Mako?"

  
"Tonight was...amazing, and something that I'll probably remember for the rest of my life, even though that I'm sure you're just going to make the next milestone even better. I'm glad that we're still together even though with what happened and we almost went our separate ways. Well, it's more than that. I know that with what you did, and how I acted wasn't the best thing or what I expected to happen, but is it weird that I think that brought us closer together than ever before?" Makoto bit his lip, shyly glancing over at Seijuurou.

  
"Honestly, I don't think that it's weird." Seijuurou smiled at the brunette. "If I learned anything from that, is that I love you and only you, and I can't bear to almost lose you again because I did something incredibly stupid. I don't want you to ever worry, or be afraid, or doubtful, I just want you to be the happiest in the world because I adore every single bit of you."

  
"Seijuurou...I never would have thought that you would be the one I fell in love with so...soon in my life. I didn't think that I would meet the one until college, or after, but you know what?" Makoto pressed their foreheads together. "I feel as if you're my soulmate, Seijuurou. And I don't want to ever be apart from you. If things get rough again, I won't get scared, I won't try and hide how I feel, with you at my side, I'm sure that I'll be able to get through anything again."

  
"How are you even real, Makoto Tachibana? Maybe you're just an angel in disguise and I can't see your wings and it was your divine purprose to be adorable and handsome and to be my one and only." Seijuurou's heart fluttered as he rubbed their noses together and Makoto giggled. "You are perfect in every way, and I'm not sure how I even function around you without having to pick up my jaw from the ground and put my heart back in place. Maybe I should just give it to you once and for all already because it's pretty much yours."

  
"Oh, stop." Makoto felt his cheeks heat up. "You keep talking like that and I'll be a crying mess, so you hush!"

  
"What sounds better, Seijuurou Tachibana or Makoto Mikoshiba? Not gonna lie, me having your last name sounds almost perfect."

  
"I-It's too early to be thinking about getting married!"

  
Seijuurou laughed and squeezed Makoto's thigh. "I know, but it doesn't hurt to think about the future once in awhile...y'know, our future. I'll hopefully be managing some kind of business and you'll be the greatest teacher ever and we'll live happily ever after with our cats in our cozy house and swim whenever we can and it'll be even more perfect because you'll be there with me."

  
"I-I-" Even under the moonlight, Seijuurou knew that Makoto's face was bright red because he could feel the heat coming off of his skin and saw wetness collect in the corners of his eyes. "S-Sei..."

  
"You know, ever since I first realized I had my crush on you, you went from 'that cute Iwatobi captain with the beautiful green eyes that I hope to call my boyfriend someday' to 'that cute Iwatobi captain with the beautiful green eyes that I'm the happiest I've ever been because you're my boyfriend'."

  
"I don't know what to say without sounding incredibly ridiculous." Seijuurou placed his hand on Makoto's cheek and the brunette eased against the touch, his thumb brushing against the swelling tear in the corner of Makoto's eye. "You're way better with words than I am..."

  
"You're so cute." Seijuurou teased. "You're cute and smart and your English is adorable and amazing and so handsome and that special one of a kind look you give to me and only me makes my heart go crazy, Makoto..." The redhead brought their lips together, hand moving to rest against Makoto's hip. Seijuurou nibbled on his bottom lip, swallowing the moan that escaped from his boyfriends throat and kissed him deeply, Makoto gripping Seijuurou's tie with a trembling hand.

  
A constant, dull buzz coming from Seijuurou's pocket made the two groan in irritation as the redhead pulled away from the flustered backstroker, retrieving his phone from his pocket and sliding it open, skimming through the text that had disturbed their heated moment and golden eyes widened.

  
"Is...everything okay?" Makoto asked, pushing a strand of hair back.

  
"Oh, yeah, of course!" Seijuurou put his phone back in his pocket, bending down to pick up his own shoes and Makoto's. "Here, c'mon, we gotta go."

  
"Go where?" Makoto stood up and stumbled slightly when Seijuurou pulled on his arm a bit too hard. "H-hey!"

  
"Sorry! And my lips are sealed until we get there, sweetheart." The redhead winked. "Tonight's just about to get more perfect."

* * *

  
Stopping by quickly to say hello to Tama in her bow (that Makoto admitted was his doing earlier that day) Makoto was more than confused when he ended up in front of his own home.

  
He got even more confused when Seijuurou was the one who easily opened the door, and was met with silence. His mother or father didn't call his name, and he didn't hear the twins' footsteps come running towards them with excitement. The house was quiet, dark, and slightly...eerie. And he knew that Seijuurou was up to something, and the night wasn't over yet.

  
"Uh...where is everyone?" Makoto took his jacket and Seijuurou's to hang on the hook by the door, loosening his tie. "It's not even all that late yet. My parents should at least still be up..."

  
"Out." Seijuurou simply said, leaning against the railing to the staircase, grin on his face. "We...talked yesterday, and they'll be back by tomorrow in the early afternoon."

  
"Really?" Makoto blinked. "What did you say? Why didn't they say anything to me this morning or before we left-"

  
"Are you going to keep asking questions or can I finally show you something amazing? Please?" Seijuurou held out his hand for Makoto to take. "I swear you'll like it...well, hopefully. I put a lot of thought into it!"

  
"Is it really that amazing that you convinced my family to have an evening out?" Makoto grasped Seijuurou's hand, following his boyfriend up the stairs. "Please tell me you didn't put a puppy in my room, alone for all this time..." He pictured his room, either torn to shreds by an overactive puppy or a giant kennel in the middle of his floor and sad whines coming from it. "We have the cats to look after I don't think that a puppy would have been the best choice, I know that you want one and all-"

  
"Nope, it's far off from being a puppy." Seijuurou stopped in front of Makoto's door, hand resting on the doorknob. "You really want to know?"

  
"Yes, please."

  
"Hmmmm, what was that?"

  
Makoto sighed, getting slightly more nervous to what was behind his door that Seijuurou was hiding. "Pleaaaase can you show me?"

  
"Alright, you asked for it..." Seijuurou twisted his hand, opening the wooden door and allowing Makoto to peer in first. Judging by the gasp escaping his lips and his hands flying up to cover his mouth, Makoto was more than impressed.

  
His entire bedroom was illuminated by dozens of candles, a vase of roses sat perfectly on his desk, and spare petals were scattered across his bed and around on the floor. Makoto's gaze landed on a small box nestled on top of a pile of petals, and he wanted to reach out to grab it but Seijuurou beat him to it.

  
"Well? What do you think?" Seijuurou cradled the velvet box in his hands.

  
"Sei, I...everything is beautiful."

  
"You're beautiful." The redhead smiled. "Perfect, right?"

  
"More than that! How though, who could have done this when you've been here only once today and that was when we left-" Green eyes found the out of place bottles of water next to his bed, and Makoto couldn't help but laugh. "Wait, I think I know who. Does his name start with an 'H'?"

  
"Ouch, you got me. But you're right, I had Haru help out and do this while we were gone. And it's exactly how I imagined everything to look." Seijuurou seemed oddly proud. "I just gave him the things that are here now, told him what I wanted and when we were leaving and sure enough he did pretty great."

  
"Is that who you were texting earlier?" Makoto raised an eyebrow. "Which is weird to think about, because Haru actually using his phone..."

  
"He's getting better at that, but back to this..." Seijuurou took a deep breath. "Makoto, you know I love you, right?"

  
"Seijuurou, of course I do."

  
"I've actually been wanting to give you this for awhile, since...before our fight, but I figured that now would be the perfect time since it is our one-year and my love for you has doubled, no, tripled since then..." With slightly shaking fingers Seijuurou opened the box, and held up a silver ring on a silver chain in front of Makoto's stunned and pink face. "I knew that from the moment I walked past a jewelry store and saw these in the window, I had to get them and it would look perfect on you."

  
"These? Them?"

  
Seijuurou chuckled and unbuttoned his collar, pulling out a similar chain with a slightly smaller ring on the end of it. "I didn't even have to ask you for your exact size and besides that would just give it away, I just...I just knew. I've held your hand hundreds of times and I know for sure that I was right." Being careful and first sliding off Makoto's tie and unbuttoning the first few buttons of his shirt, Seijuurou unclasped the chain, circling it around Makoto's neck and admiring how right he was once he clasped it back together. "There. Perfect."

  
"I don't ever want to take this off." Makoto smiled, touching the cold metal with his fingertips and heart beating against his chest. "I know I'll have to when I swim, but...I want to wear it all the time."

  
"I'm just relieved that you like it, because they also had gold and like...a bronze color but you can never really go wrong with silver because it's a neutral thing and I remember that you said that you really preferred silver to anything else and-" Seijuurou was cut off by Makoto's lips colliding with his, and he melted at the sudden touch.

  
"You really need to stop rambling off like that, babe." Makoto laughed, smoothing out the wrinkles on Seijuurou's shirt and tugged on his tie. "And I did see something else, you know..."

  
"Oh? And what would that be?" Seijuurou raised an eyebrow.

  
Makoto brought his mouth to Seijuurou's ear, lightly biting on the lobe and feeling Seijuurou shiver and hold back a groan. "I did see the condoms and lube, out there right in the open for anyone to see..."

  
"And?"

  
"And..." Makoto's fingers started unbuttoning Seijuurou's shirt one by one, slowly. "I'm sure that you know what I'm thinking, don't you? You did plan all of this and tonight is pretty special and that would be the perfect way to finish the evening..."

  
Seijuurou saw that familiar glint of lust in Makoto's eyes, the same look that made shivers run down his spine and his whole body tremble with anticipation. "Mmm, Makoto?" Seijuurou let his eyes flutter shut as Makoto placed kisses on his exposed skin, hands squeezing Makoto's hips.

  
"Yes, Seijuurou?"

  
"I know what I want, y'know...for my anniversary present...that I didn't want to tell you until now." Makoto pulled away from Seijuurou's shoulder to look into dilated golden eyes, brushing their noses together and lips only mere centimeters away. "I want you...to make love to me, Makoto."

  
The youngest couldn't hide the smile that spread on his face, pressing himself against Seijuurou to kiss the redhead deeply and tangle his hands in his styled hair. Seijuurou's hands fumbled with undoing the rest of the buttons of Makoto's shirt as his boyfriend continued to kiss him, and soon enough found himself being pushed to the bed, breaking apart from Makoto's mouth to be allowed to slip off his own shirt along with Makoto's. The two were breathing heavily and Makoto rested himself between Seijuurou's still clothed and parted thighs to stare at the older swimmer, watching his chest rise and fall and his face shadowed by the candles, making his heart ache and arousal build up.

  
Makoto brought his hand down over Seijuurou's, lacing their fingers together and resting them on top of Seijuurou's chest, over his heart and smiled when he felt the steady beating that he was familiar with.

  
"I love you." Makoto said. "I love you more than anything, Seijuurou."

  
"Even more than cats?" Seijuurou teased, wrapping his legs around Makoto's waist and hair falling into his face when he sat up slightly and watched as Makoto's fingers unclasped his belt, sliding it out of the loops and dropped it to the floor.

  
"Way more than cats. Cats that even have chocolate."

* * *

  
Makoto was the one to wake up first the next morning again, the sunlight pouring into his bedroom. He smiled when he saw the roses in all of their glory bathing in a sunbeam, along with the scattered petals and their scent mixing with the cinnamon candles. Makoto ran a hand through his hair and let out a yawn, looking down to a sleeping Seijuurou on his stomach and hair disheveled. Makoto let out a pleased hum when his fingers touched the cool metal of his rings necklace and heart fluttering when he saw the similar chain resting against Seijuurou's tanned skin. He couldn't help but blush, recalling the events of last night from when Seijuurou picked him, their dinner date and beach talk and then to the sex, trailing a hand up and down Seijuurou's back and the redhead shifted.

  
"Mmmmorning." A golden eye peeked open, melting against the comforting touch.

  
"Feeling okay?" Makoto hummed, referring to the state of how sore Seijuurou was, or could be. The redhead had been on the receiving end a handful of times, but not as much as Makoto, and every time Makoto made sure not to hurt his boyfriend too much no matter how pleased he seemed during the act.

  
Seijuurou shrugged, nuzzling into Makoto's pillow. "It's a bit sore. But nothing too bad. Just an excuse to stay in bed with you all day."

  
"All day?" Makoto laughed. "I guess that's okay...I would make you breakfast in bed but we both know how that would end. Want a massage?"

  
"Yes, please." The youngest moved and sat himself on the back of Seijuurou's thighs, his hands kneading his boyfriends lower back and smiled when pleased groans escaped his lips. "You're the best, Mako."

  
"Love you, too." Makoto smiled, leaning forward and placing a kiss on Seijuurou's shoulder. "Best anniversary ever?"

  
"Oh, just you wait until next year."

  
"Already looking forward to it, love."


	28. Joint Babysitting Captains (partial M)

"What do you mean we have to reschedule?"

  
Seijuurou frowned, listening to Makoto apologize because he had to watch Ren and Ran suddenly, and was unavaliable to go out tonight with Seijuurou who was home for the weekend. Of course Seijuurou was disappointed at first, wanting to spend a relaxing weekend for once with his boyfriend; maybe see a movie, get something to eat, things that they could do without being rushed for time with an after-practice date. And then the rain had also happened, which would have changed the plans even if things had went well and they were still able to go out.

  
 _"I'm really sorry! Mom's out doing some things and dad had to stay late for work and so it really couldn't be helped that I have to watch them! And all of this rain will make things delayed so who knows when they'll be back._ " Seijuurou could tell how sincere Makoto was over the phone, knowing that the brunette was upset as well as he was. " _I know you don't go home on weekends often and this was our chance to spend more time together, I really wish that we could have at least done something together-"_

  
"Mako, it's fine, okay?" Seijuurou tried to reasuure his boyfriend. "We can always do something next weekend, joint practice is scheduled for friday so at best, we can have three days together?"

  
_"I know, but still..."_

  
Seijuurou lounged in his living room, sprawled out on the couch as he listened to Makoto spew apologies. Mei was across the room, coloring, looking terribly bored because all of her friends had been busy resulting in having no one to play with all day and being cooped up in the house on a rainy day was no fun for a kid. He looked at her sigh, putting her crayons back in the box and slowly her other things away where they belong as well, and his heart ached because he too felt the same.

  
And that's when Seijuurou Mikoshiba got a brilliant idea.

  
"Hey, Mako?" Seijuurou sat up, running a hand through his hair.

  
_"Yeah?"_

  
"Ask the kids if they want a playdate today."

  
 _"But Sei, it's pouring down outside! I don't want you or Mei to get sick if you come over- h-hey!_ " Seijuurou raised an eyebrow at the disturbance on the other line, hearing Makoto's voice now muffled and in the distance as he then heard the cheery and excited voices of Ren and Ran Tachibana.

  
_"Shiba! Pleaaaaase come and play with Mei?"_

  
_"Please? Please, please, please?"_

  
_"C-can I have my phone back, please?!"_

  
Seijuurou laughed, getting up from the couch and already set to find his sister. "Sorry Mako, we're coming over. We won't get sick, we're Mikoshibas! We can get through anything, rain or shine."

  
The twin siblings cheered and Makoto was handed back his phone, the brunette's voice coming through clearly. _"I'll get things ready, then. Be safe, alright?"_

  
"See you soon, love you." Seijuurou hung up, shoving his phone in his pocket and looked up the staircase. "Mei! Get some things ready and get your rainboots! We're going to the Tachibanas!"

  
A small head poked out, her red hair flopping in her face. "We're seeing Mako?"

  
"Mako and his brother and sister, yeah."

  
A wide smile spread on her face as she disappeared once again to get ready, and Seijuurou laughed as he heard her sing to herself as she got her things together and went to tell his mother that he was taking Mei out and they would be back in the evening. 

* * *

  
Makoto quickly ushered a dripping Seijuurou and almost completely dry Mei inside, telling the youngest Mikoshiba that Ren and Ran were waiting for her at the kitchen table and were all ready to play. He sighed, taking Seijuurou's soaked jacket as the redhead shook out his umbrella to rest comfortably in the corner near the door.

  
"Picked the wrong time to leave, it started raining even harder as soon as we were down the street." Seijuurou stood awkwardly by the door, not sure if Makoto wanted him to step any further into the house in his wet clothes. "Uh, babe? Can you do me a quick favor and get me my spare clothes from your room?"

  
"As much as I would do the same thing for my siblings and make sure that they're the ones that are mostly covered by the umbrella, you should have really brought an extra one for yourself!" Makoto scolded the redhead, leaving the room for less than a minute before returning with Seijuurou's spare clothes folded in his hands. "I had a feeling that you'd want to change. I'll go keep the kids occupied so that they don't walk by as you're getting dressed-"

  
"What, you don't want to watch?" Seijuurou winked and laughed when he saw Makoto's face turn red, already starting to unbutton his pants and moving his hips in a suggestive way as he tried to pull the wet denim down his thighs.

  
"Y-you know the answer to that, but I should really make sure that they're okay..." Makoto excused himself from his undressing and teasing boyfriend to go into the kitchen, smiling when seeing his siblings already discussing what to play with Mei.

  
He leaned himself against the counter, checking his phone from any other messages from either of his parents, making a new text to send to his mother to inform her that Seijuurou and Mei had arrived safely and they would all make sure that the house would remain in one piece when she got back. Her reply was almost instantaneous, and it made the oldest Tachibana smile.

  
_That's good to hear! You kids play safe now, and remember, keep the PDA to a minimum in front of your siblings! Make sure to tell Seijuurou that._

  
"Hey Sei, you can just put your wet clothes right in the dryer!" Makoto called out, resting his phone on the counter. "And mom says no funny business in front of the kids!"

  
"Got it! I'll try my best!" Seijuurou responded from the other room.

  
"So, you three..." Nodding towards his brother, sister, and Mei at the table. "What do you want to do today?"

  
"Can we make a fort?" Ran placed her hands on the table, eyes wide. "You and Shiba can play too! It's perfect for today!"

  
"Ah, would we have enough cushions, chairs, sheets, and blankets though...?" Makoto rubbed his chin. "It's been awhile and from the last time I think we got rid of all of our older things..."

  
"We do! I know we do!"

  
"Alright...go get started. You two know where all the things are in the closet-" The three pushed back their chairs and dashed off to the living room, excitedly talking about how big they wanted to make it and that each of them would have their own space inside of it. "But be careful, please!"

  
Emerging from the laundry room in dry clothes and with dry hair, Seijuurou approached Makoto at the counter and wrapped his arms around Makoto's waist, nuzzling his shoulder with a content sigh.

  
"Everything's going okay, I assume?" He mumbled. "What're they doing?"

  
"Making a fort, nothing too dangerous." Makoto leaned back into Seijuurou's warm body. "Hungry? There's some leftovers in the fridge if you're interested."

  
The redhead shrugged, swaying back and forth slightly. "I think I'm fine for now. Wanna go join them? Make a fort of our own?"

  
Makoto hummed, tilting his neck to the side so that he could rub his nose against Seijuurou's jaw. "Sure, why not?"

  
After all, it was perfect weather to relax in a cozy fort, and the perfect substitute for a cancelled date.

* * *

  
Once the older siblings got involved, building a simple fort turned into 'who could make the best one'.

  
Ren, Ran, and Mei had half of the living room to themselves while Makoto and Seijuurou had the other. The older brothers had gotten the chairs from the kitchen table so they could use them, along with several spare blankets and sheets. The only thing that Makoto and Seijuurou had helped their siblings with was making sure that their blankets wouldn't slip off of the chairs. Once that was dealt with and the three could get started on the interior and other things, Seijuurou and Makoto had started on their own.

  
They decided that they would use the couch as their main area, draping a sheet over the back of it and then over one of the spare chairs. Makoto put more over the sides so that the couch was fully covered and with space in front of it a fair distance away from the younger siblings area, Seijuurou was already inside and making sure that there was enough room for the tall swimmers to sit comfortably. Makoto and Seijuurou could hear their siblings' happy voices muffled from inside their own fort, Ran talking excitedly to Mei about how many of her stuffed animals that they could have inside their 'castle' and enough room so that Ren could have his toys, too.

  
"Mako! Get back in your own fort! With Shiba!" Ren pushed against Makoto's leg when his older brother lifted one of the sheets to peek his head inside to make sure that everyone was doing alright. "We're doing private things!"

  
"Private things?" Makoto raised an eyebrow, smiling. "Like what?"

  
"Things that big brothers can't see! Or hear!"

  
Laughing and putting the sheet down to let his brother and sister and Mei get back to their 'private things', Makoto lifted the sheet to his and Seijuurou's own fort, seeing the redhead comfortably sitting against the couch and scrolling through his phone. Makoto crawled inside, trying to not let his head touch the top of the fort, settling himself down next to Seijuurou and let out a content sigh when the oldest wrapped an arm around his waist.

  
"They having fun?" Seijuurou asked, finishing off a message to his mother to reassure her that he and Mei were having fun. "Everything fine?"

  
"Perfectly fine." Makoto nuzzled Seijuurou's shoulder. "Even though I know I shouldn't because we have to watch them, but a nap sounds wonderful right now."

  
"If you're tired then go ahead, I can stay awake." Kissing Makoto's forehead, Seijuurou motioned to the couch. "It's no problem, sweetheart."

  
"No, it's fine. The kids might get hungry soon so I have to stay awake. Plus what if something happened?"

  
Seijuurou smiled. "You're such a good big brother."

  
"Hey, so are you!"

  
"I just wish I could see her more, though..." Seijuurou sighed. "That's one of the downfalls of staying in the dorms. But it's always great when I come home, because she's always the happiest to see me. Seeing pictures and phonecalls are nice, but it just isn't the same as actually seeing her."

  
Makoto nudged Seijuurou with his elbow, making the redhead yelp. "I'm happy to see you whenever."

  
"...So that means always?"

  
"Of course."

  
The oldest tilted his head down, pressing his lips to Makoto's, smile never leaving his face.   
\---  
 _"S-Sei~..."_

  
_Golden eyes devoured the sight beneath him; a beautiful, flustered, and partially naked Makoto Tachibana with his legs spread and erection straining against the fabric of his boxers. He licked his lips, letting his fingertips drag across the brunette's thighs and making them tremble slightly. Slightly squeezing the oozing head through the thin fabric between his thumb and pointer finger, Makoto arched his back with a cry and fisted the sheets to his sides._   
_"Please, Sei..." Makoto bit his lip, cheeks reddening._

  
_Seijuurou didn't have to be told twice when Makoto asked for things before or during sex, eagerly pulling down Makoto's boxers and wrapping his fingers around the base of Makoto's erect cock, leaning forward while giving teasingly slow pumps and staring into hazed green eyes._

  
_"What do you want, Mako?" Seijuurou tilted his head to the side, smiling. Even though he knew exactly what his boyfriend wanted, Seijuurou liked to be a tease once every while. "Do you want me?"_

  
_Makoto whined, bucking his hips against Seijuurou's hand._

  
_"Do you want me to suck you off, Mako...?" Placing light kisses from the base up to the tip of Makoto's length, Seijuurou closed his eyes as he let his tongue lick at the tip and pressing gently against the slit._

  
_"Yesssss-!" Makoto's hands found Seijuurou's hair, tugging styled red locks and trying to keep his legs spread. "Yes, I do! I want you, Seijuurou!"_

  
_Winking at the withering brunette, Seijuurou took Makoto slowly into his mouth bit by bit. Makoto was careful and tried not to pull Seijuurou suddenly to make the redhead gag, toes curling and chest swelling as he watched wet, pink, full lips around his erection and feeling an experienced tongue. Seijuurou could taste Makoto's essence already and the oldest could have sworn that Makoto always tasted faintly of chocolate and other sweets, which made Seijuurou even more turned on once he placed the taste because it was so...Makoto._ _Seijuurou picked up the pace and gripped Makoto's thighs, his moans muffled and spit mixed with pre-come dripped from the sides of his mouth and down his chin. He took Makoto in deeper, almost deep-throating him completely, letting his eyes flutter closed and listening to Makoto's groans and moans._

_"Shiba, so good..." Makoto moaned, and Seijuurou hummed in response. He was too lost in pleasing Makoto to catch that he had just used the nickname that only Ren and Ran call him, and wasn't until Makoto got more audible that he caught on. "Shiba! I'm gonna come, I'm gonna come soon, Shiba...!"_

* * *

  
"Shiba! Wake up!"

  
"Why're you calling me that, Mako...?" Seijuurou mumbled, opening his eyes and was met with Ren, Ran, and Mei staring at him. "Uh..."

  
"Why were you making funny noises when you were napping?" Ren asked. "Big brother makes those sounds sometimes too. Is it just a swimmer thing?"

  
"I fell asleep?" The three nodded. "Where did Mako go off to? What's..." Seijuurou paused, sniffing the air. "...Burning?"

  
"That's why we were trying to wake you up, Shiba! Mako's trying to make lunch even though there's things already made in the fridge but he insisted on making something himself!" Ran tugged on Seijuurou's shirt. "You have to stop him!"

  
"I'm sorry, I had to say that I was getting a bit hungry." Mei twiddled her thumbs and looked up at her brother. "...So it's my fault."

  
Eyes widening, Seijuurou rolled off of the couch and tore down the top sheet of his and Makoto's fort, untangling himself the best and fastest he could and threw it on the ground, rushing to the kitchen to the source of the awful smell and surprised that the smoke alarm hadn't gone off yet.

  
"Hey!" Seijuurou batted Makoto's hands away from the smoking stovetop, pulling his boyfriend away and taking care of the fire hazard of burning bread and cheese by putting it in the empty sink. "What do you think you're doing?!"

  
"I-I didn't want to wake you up!" Makoto frowned and watched as Seijuurou was cleaning up his mess, feeling guilty. "I know that we talked about how I should never try to cook things by myself, but it was just one little thing and I thought that it wouldn't be that hard! And I wanted to surprise you with a nice lunch but I guess not..."

  
"You're right, this was a surprise." Seijuurou sighed, turning the stove off and opening a window to allow some of the smoke to leave the kitchen. "Asleep or not, you should have woken me up, sweetheart. You could have hurt yourself, you know!"

  
"I'm sorry..."

  
"Mako, hey..." The oldest wrapped his arm around Makoto and pulled him close and ran his fingers through soft brown hair. "It's fine. You just tried to do a good thing and you didn't burn anything down or hurt yourself."

  
"But-"

  
"Whenever you want, starting with the small stuff, I'll teach you how to cook. I'm sure Nanase's been trying to teach you a few things, too." Seijuurou motioned to the steaming skillet in the sink. "I'm pretty sure that no one else needs to know about this little incident? We can just deal with what's already in the fridge, like you were supposed to do."

  
Makoto nodded, sighing. "Okay..."

  
"Princess Narwhal, you do a good job at calming Prince Orca!" Ran smiled from her place in the doorway with Ren and Mei, and Seijuurou raised an eyebrow.

  
"Why am I the princess?"

  
"It was when you were sleeping." Makoto tilted his head to look up at Seijuurou, his forehead pressing against the redhead's chin. "It could have easily been the other way around, but they flipped a coin and so you were then crowned Princess Narhwal." The brunette shifted, pulling his phone from his pocket and slid it open to get to his picture gallery to find the most recent pictures he took of the slumbering 'princess'. "See? Look." The Iwatobi captain showed Seijuurou every picture of his peaceful sleeping face, and the sudden folded and colored crown on his head with Makoto himself in the corner of the screen with his own crown on his head. "You were out solid, and didn't even move when the camera sounds went off or when I accidentally hit your arm."

  
"You hit my arm?"

  
"See? Completely passed out." Makoto laughed. "We even had to make sure that you weren't dead."

  
"Ran wanted to do CPR!" Ren added which made his twin's face turn pink. "But then you snored really loudly and moved a bit which meant that you were alive."

  
Seijuurou only sulked as Makoto continued to show him and their siblings more pictures of when he was sleeping, face heating up as Mei was the one to re-crown them both with the discarded paper that was almost forgotten underneath the fallen sheets.

* * *

  
Once Mrs. Tachibana had returned, removing her wet shoes, slipping out of her jacket and balancing the bags in her arms and mumbling about the weather, she called out to alert that she was home and sorry that it took her so long because she ran into an old friend. Asako paused, worried that no one had called back out to her in response. She peered into the living room, first shocked upon seeing the mess of blankets and sheets on the floor, but soon smiled.

  
Ren, Ran and Mei were sleeping peacefully on the couch while Makoto were hand-in hand on the floor bundled in sheets, the sounds of soft snoring filling the silence.

  
Asako walked into the kitchen to place her bags on the counter, reaching out for the phone to dial a number that was recently added to their phone list, right under M for Mikoshiba.

  
_"Hello?"_

  
"Hi, Megumi? It's Asako, Makoto's mother."

  
_"Oh, hello! Is everything alright? When Seijuurou told me that he was bringing Mei over to play with your twins I was so worried that they wouldn't even make it over because of all the wind and rain."_

  
"Everything is fine, really." Asako chuckled. "I would just like to ask you if it would be alright if Seijuurou and Mei could stay over, they're both sleeping right now and I heard that this storm was going to be through and done with by morning, so it might be best if they just stay here and not risk going back out."

  
_"That would be fine, thank you for looking out for them! I know that my son and daughter are in good hands."_

  
"It's nothing, really." Asako looked back into the living room at the sleeping bodies and as Makoto shifted to rest halfway on top of Seijuurou, smile not leaving her face. "I'm just glad that by the looks of things, everyone had fun."

  
However, both boys jolted awake moments later when they heard Asako, alerting that she had found the burnt pan in the sink.


	29. Chapter 29

Makoto sighed, looking at the multiple college options spread out in front of him.

  
It was down to the wire, and he had to decide on a university by the end of the next week and a half. Makoto had gotten accepted to all of his desired schools and passed the entrance exams by the skin of his teeth, making himself, his parents, and even Seijuurou more than happy, but he still couldn't choose just one to attend. Every single one of them sounded like the best option, but Makoto knew that one was definitely better than the others. There were several scholarships offered from almost all of them, some even offering a swimming scholarship with seeing that he was on a swim team and the team captain, but the most important thing to Makoto was that he wanted the best classes and the one university that would further his career as a teacher.

  
Green eyes wandered from the pamphlets and research to his phone resting under a Tokyo brochure, and his heart ached. Makoto wanted nothing more to call Seijuuou, to ramble on about how he was feeling because he was stressing out about deciding and that graduation was around the corner and he felt like he was going to be sick from all this pressure and things that had to be done, and he knew that Seijuurou would be able to lift his spirits easily, just like always. But the redhead had his hands full lately with doing extra projects for his classes to get a leg ahead, and when he was able to talk it wasn't as long as Makoto had hoped to talk for, or Seijuurou, because the redhead had to multi-task while doing so. Seijuurou tried to at least text Makoto whenever he could, cute little messages that made Makoto smile and forget about his worries for awhile that were typically received in the morning or really late in the evening, and Seijuurou promised that he would call Makoto when he wasn't constantly busy. And it didn't help that finals were only days away, and between having to decide and study for his final exams at Iwatobi, the constant feeling of being sick was like a rock in Makoto's stomach.

  
Stress didn't mix well with Makoto. Especially stress that had to deal with having to decide out of multiple options that held his future. Ever since he was young, Makoto knew that he wanted to be a teacher. There was no questioning it, and the brunette had been passionate about his career decision since then. He had only wished that picking the school to help him reach his goal was as easy as middle school Makoto Tachibana shouting out "I want to be a teacher!" as soon as he had that epiphany during a class break.

  
He had talked to Haruka and Rin, meeting up at a small cafe to discuss the future and to take a break from their almost-constant studying. His two close friends seemed much more relaxed than he did once the topic of university was brought up after discussing the possibilities of the after-graduation party to also celebrate their university decisions, and it shocked Makoto that they had chosen so quickly. Rin not so much, but Haruka definitely had taken Makoto and Rin for surprise when he said that he had decided weeks ago.

  
"Swimming for Tokyo, huh?" Makoto stirred his drink with his straw, the ice clinking against the sides of the glass. "So we can expect to see you in the Olympics soon?"

  
"That's the plan. Eventually I'll find something I'm good at or like when I take random classes, it's fine." Rin waved his hand. "I know, it's not completely thought out, but at least it's something? And I might decide to go abroad somewhere, too. People don't know what they really want to do right away and change a lot. And then there's people like you, Mako, who know and aim for that without any distractions in the way."

  
Makoto turned to Haruka. "And you're going to a place on the coast for marine biology and art?"

  
Haruka simply shrugged. "Yeah. I know I looked into a lot of places near the coastline and it may not be as big as Tokyo, but when I sent in some of my things one was more than impressed, asked questions, and said that I was perfect for the school and I agreed to go once I passed the exam."

  
The brunette sunk back in his seat, frown fixed on his face. "But that means we'll all be separated, too..."

  
"Oh it won't be that bad, Mako. It's not like the internet or cell phones don't exist, or hell, even sending letters. But I'm not so sure about Haru here, he's the one we should be worried about." Rin teased the older swimmer, nudging his side. "But graduation's in a week for Samezuka, and then for you guys it's a few days after?"

  
"Two days, yeah. It's scary how it's so close..."

  
"And we still have plans to come see you that day, right?"

  
"Definitely. And same goes for you two, I'll come right down."

  
"You can come to the party that the swim club is having, of course. I'll have to ask Nagisa again and make sure that it actually will be after graduation that night and we have permission to be around the pool." Makoto smiled at Rin. "But be warned, he already said that there's gonna be crying."

  
Rin rolled his eyes. "I know, my sister mentioned something about it to me. She said that it's going to be a big thing, because I'll be leaving and so will you two and she's questioning the productivity of the club with Nagisa and Rei in charge of the new guys."

  
The trio gave a collected sigh, the weight on all of their shoulders increasing as the thought of the next life step was so close and it seemed like yesterday they were only in their first year of high school.

  
"...Before we all leave, we need to have one last swim. Together, alright?"

  
Makoto and Rin turned to Haruka, who was looking down at the table. He lifted his head after a moment, blue eyes watering as he tried to smile at his closest friends. They knew that Haruka was being sincere, and that even if he didn't say it, even though that they still had time together he was dreading the day that they'll be miles apart and it'll take time to get used to the unfamiliarity of it all.

  
"Haru, of course."

  
"Could we make it a monthly thing?"

  
"Depends on our schedules." Rin took a drink from his glass. "But I suppose we could give it a try."

  
"Sounds perfect to me." Makoto smiled, looking at his two closest friends. "I couldn't imagine anything better than that."

* * *

  
Makoto sat on the stone steps to Haruka's home, mindlessly petting Tama and the other stray cats that gathered around. Even after talking about his choices to Haruka and Rin, he still hadn't thought about what school to choose. No matter who he asked, it being his friends or family, they all said the same thing.

  
"Pick the one that you think is right."

  
He sighed, picking Tama up and put her in his lap, scratching under her chin. Makoto wished things were easier, that there wouldn't have to be schools better than others, and that it could all be picked for him. He thought of Rin, being successful in Tokyo, and Haruka doing two things that he enjoyed near the ocean, and where did that leave himself? Makoto knew that he wanted to become a teacher, to help others and further his own learning and live a happy life. And then there was Seijuurou, who hadn't said anything detailed on the matter whatsoever because he was busy and didn't want to bring it up to burden the redhead with another thing to think about even though it was Makoto's problem.

  
_Should I stay close to home, or go big?_

  
_Maybe I should just choose whichever one is offering more money so I won't have to worry about anything too extra._

  
_Pick a random one, go with the adventure!_

  
_This is exactly why I don't like having to make decisions, important or otherwise._

  
_Taking a year off wouldn't be too bad..._

  
"Tama, what should I do?" He bit his lip, curling her tail around his finger. "I just feel so...lost and that I could pick the wrong place. Even if I do pick right I probably won't know until halfway through so there's all that time wasted with me freaking out because I think I chose wrong..." Makoto flinched slightly when he felt a buzz in his pocket, quickly setting Tama back down beside him to retrieve his ringing phone from his pocket and his heart lept in his throat when he saw who was calling. Speak of the devil...

  
"Sei?" Makoto answered, trying to get his heart to calm down. "You're not busy?"

  
 _"Nope, finished the last with what I had to do a bit ago and just dropped it off. And like I said, I would call you because good god hearing your voice is amazing right now_." Seijuurou sighed, and it made the brunette smile. " _Sorry that it happened, one thing turned into another and I was roped into doing more stuff."_

  
"It's fine, really. If it's helping you with your classes, then it's no problem."

  
_"...Mako, is everything okay? You sound like something's wrong."_

  
Makoto sighed, standing to head back to his home. "Well..."

  
_"Well?"_

  
"I don't know what to choose."

  
_"...Choose what?"_

  
"Rin and Haru have already decided, and I have to choose between several potential places and I have no idea which one that I really want to go to." Makoto slipped through the front door while still having his phone pressed to his ear, closing the door behind him while kicking off his shoes. "And it's been...stressful because I have to decide soon, before graduation is over at least so I at least know where I'm headed and there's three days until finals, and it...sucks."

  
_"Wait, are you talking about schools, Mako?"_

  
"...Did I not mention that?"

  
Seijuurou laughed. " _No, not really."_

  
"See?" Makoto shut his bedroom door, falling back on his bed. "Stressful."

  
_"Well you know I can't decide for you, sweetheart. That'd be wrong. But you need to just calm down and take a breather. All of this is starting to mess with your head and you might go insane at this rate. You do have the multiple cats thing down already..."_

  
The brunette whined. "But that would make things so much easier if someone chose for me while I freak out some more about passing these tests."

  
Seijuurou paused, holding back a yawn. " _You said you wanted to be a teacher, yeah? And I assume that you passed the exams to a lot of great schools."_

  
"I did, yes. But all of them have something different and different scholarship ranges and classes and everything else and it's just too much for me to actually be able to decide correctly, you know?" Makoto pressed his empty hand on his forehead. "Everyone says to just pick the one I think is right, but I don't know which one is right and that makes it ten times harder."

  
_"Mako, you know that which one you do choose you'll be fantastic either way. It's just choices and nerves and it's a big step. And it's scary, and I know that I haven't been around lately because of my own college business, but I'm here now and I'm here to listen." Makoto could tell that Seijuurou was smiling, even through the phone. "I love you, and I want to see you succeed. You just have to narrow them all down even further before making that final choice."_

  
"Sei..." Makoto laughed, Seijuurou's voice helping his stress die down slightly. "You're perfect."

  
 _"I'm sleepy, that's what I am._ " Seijuurou let out a playful scoff. " _You should just come to school with me, I mean, you've already been here tons of times and know where almost everything is."_

  
"But I've been to other campuses, too."

  
_"Not as much as here, babe."_

  
"You did say that they had a teaching program, right...?"

  
_"Yeah. It's not as recognized as other schools are, but I hear it's just as good."_

  
Makoto rolled over, eyeing his desk that still had every bit of university information on it. "As much as I want to keep talking about this, you sound like you're going to fall asleep any minute. Go to sleep, okay? You deserve it. We can talk later."

  
" _But-_ " Another yawn from Seijuurou. " _I wanna talk to my MakoMako..."_

  
"No buts. You really need to catch up on your rest."

  
_"But I wanna catch up on what's been going on with you, too. Like how you're feeling aside from the stress and go on a double date with RinRin and AiAi, and talk about other things like Tama and the stars and how amazing space must look like."_

  
"Hate to break it to you darling but you're at that extremely tired stage where you're going to pass out at any minute. Now go to sleep before I tell Aikawa to hide your phone, I love you."

  
_"Alright, alright...love you too, Mako, whose green eyes shine like freshly cut grass and green tea. Text me in the morning and I can help you study whenever you want, tomorrow."_

  
He ended the call, sighing when he placed his phone to his side. With a groan he got up from his bed, sluggishly going back to his desk to skim through the pamphlets and brochures among his piled textbooks one more time and have a decision as soon as possible, as he decided with determination. Makoto sat there, making neat piles of his potential future schools, laying them all out so he could see them beside each other in hopes that it would make the deciding easier. He frowned, swearing in his mind that something was missing, that he was forgetting one important thing, and his heart dropped to his stomach realizing what that thing was.

  
There wasn't anything from Kyoto. Even though he thought that he had picked something up the last time he was there, his desk was Kyoto-free.

  
"Oh my god-" Makoto panicked, checking his desk drawers and going through all of his papers one more time to make sure that he didn't misplace anything. He sat back in his seat, eyes wide at his mistake. Seijuurou mentioned that he should apply once before during the middle of the year because 'who knows', and the thought of being around Seijuurou almost constantly made his heart swell, but he didn't take the entrance exam to the school. "Oh my _god_."

  
And then he thought that there could still be a sliver of hope for his carelessness.

  
"An all-nighter wouldn't hurt...would it?" Makoto's fingers were quickly typing and scrolling through the Kyoto university's website, relieved that he found that they had online exams. "Just taking a test that could determine my future, just like all the others, and then I'll study for a half hour before bed. Not too hard..."

* * *

  
Three days later, when Makoto had went to Haruka's to head to one of their final high school days, Haruka noticed the big change in Makoto's behavior.

  
It was the day of finals, something that every third year was dreading but in Makoto's case the brunette was...constantly smiling, and when he spoke he sounded like a daydreaming Nagisa when thinking about Rei. Haruka knew that with Seijuurou being busy, they haven't seen each other much less talk all that much, and that his best friend was still most likely fretting about college and about passing. So maybe, just maybe, Makoto had finally decided and it calmed him down?

  
"Uh...everything okay?" Haruka raised an eyebrow as he flipped his mackerel, seeing Makoto sway back and forth as he leaned against the counter. "Your mood has definitely improved from a few days ago, what happened? Finally talk to Seijuurou?"

  
Makoto just hummed, smile not leaving his face. "I did, he's finally done with being busy with projects."

  
"And?"

  
"And I finally decided." Makoto smoothed out his slacks. "I've decided, and the answer was right in front of me the entire time."

  
"On a university?"

  
He nodded, and Haruka could have sworn that Makoto was almost glowing. "I want to tell you, all of you, together. On graduation at the party. Not even my parents or Seijuurou know."

  
And Haruka left it at that, only smiling back at his best friend and knowing exactly what school Makoto had chosen.

  
"Okay." Haruka grabbed a plate from the counter that had two pieces of toast on it, handing it to Makoto. "Here, for breakfast. It's going to be a long day, Makoto."


	30. Bespectacled Brunette

It wasn't often that Makoto would wear his glasses outside of the 'needing them to read' spectrum.

  
He mainly wore them at home, during the evening when he would be flipping through his textbooks or sometimes at school when needing to read something off of the board or work on an important assignment. Makoto was at least glad that his eyesight was fine enough that he didn't need contacts, because the thought of having to put them in and take them out every day, with hearing horror stories with people leaving them in as they slept and bad things happening really made him nervous if he ever had to start wearing them. But with reassurance from his doctor, glasses were just fine for the young swimmer.

  
They were just simple frames, nothing too special or out of the ordinary, and they were perfect for Makoto's face. His siblings had wildly suggested something bright, like Rei's vivid red frames, and had even took them from the violet-eyed boy and made Makoto try them on. Even though Makoto did just to humor his siblings (and friends), Makoto just smiled and shook his head, saying that he would just stick to his original pair because it fit him best. Makoto was always told that he looked charming when he wore his glasses and that he should wear them more often which would just make the brunette blush and say that he didn't care much about appearances. He knew that he looked perfectly fine either way, with glasses or no glasses, and that his friends didn't care much either.

  
And then his boyfriend, Seijuurou Mikoshiba, found out that he wore glasses.

  
It was Makoto's turn to stay with Seijuurou at the dorms and with knowing that he was going to be studying and would need them, Makoto decided to just put them on after practice instead of having to search for them later. So when Makoto had knocked on the familiar dorm-room door and Seijuurou opened it, being met with a bespectacled green-eyed beauty, he was more than surprised.

  
"Uh...Sei?" Makoto broke the awkward silence, and Seijuurou out of his trance. "Everything alright?"

  
"Oh, yeah, everything's fine!" Seijuurou let Makoto inside, shutting the door behind him. "Um...when did you start wearing glasses?"

  
"Forever ago, why?" Makoto set his bag down by Seijuurou's bed, raising an eyebrow at the question.

  
"It's just that...I've never seen you...wearing them before, is all." He leaned against his desk, looking at Makoto like he's never seen him before in his life.

  
"Is that a bad thing?" Makoto frowned. "I just wear them in the evening or when I have to read something. I'm just glad I don't have to wear contacts to be honest.

Touching my eyes every day? Ick." The brunette shivered with a disgusted and fearful look on his face. "But I could have sworn that you've seen me wear them before..."

  
Seijuurou 'ahhh'd in response, walking over and sitting down next to Makoto. "Well if it helps I think you look really cute?"

  
Pink spread across Makoto's cheeks at Seijuurou's words, making the redhead smile. "You always think I'm cute."

  
"I do, but I've never seen you this cute before." He reached out, gently taking off the black frames resting on Makoto's nose and put them on himself much to Makoto's protests and squinted. "Jeez, you're really blind, aren't you?"

  
"H-hey, it's not that bad..." Makoto reached out to try to get his glasses back so he could see. "Can I have them back, please?"

  
The redhead shifted, distancing himself from the struggling brunette who was attempting to get back what was his. "I can barely see, you're just kind of a...weird blur, Mako. How strong is your prescription?"

  
"I don't know how strong it is and I can see fine without them, they're only for reading and stuff like that. Now can I have them back please?"

  
"Is this even considered to be bad eyesight? I wouldn't know, but I always wanted to wear glasses, though. Figured it'd make me look more...distinguished."

  
"You look really handsome, but can you please give them back now?"

  
"Is this how you're seeing things now? So whenever we have sex, can you really not see anything-"

  
_"Seijuurou! Give them back!"_

  
He stopped talking, noticing how hurt Makoto sounded and took the glasses from his face, outstretching his arm and giving them back to his boyfriend. His heart felt like it was coming to a stop, realizing that his words were indeed hurtful, and saw embarrassed green eyes shift downwards when he had put his glasses back on.

  
"...I can see just fine. I'm not completely blind, you know." Makoto muttered, leaning over to rummage through his bag to pull out one of his notebooks. "Now if you don't mind, I have an English assignment to work on. And I won't need help."

  
Seijuurou only nodded, slumping back against the frame of his bed as he watched Makoto try to busy himself with his work, heart aching when he knew for sure that he had slipped up and definitely shouldn't have said what he did.

  
_Crap. You've surely did it this time, Mikoshiba._

* * *

  
An hour later, and Makoto still hadn't said a word to Seijuurou.

  
He had moved to lay on the floor, holding his head up with one hand while the other was lazily writing, and Seijuurou had tried to focus on his studies as well but couldn't help but continue looking at a still very hurt Makoto. Seijuurou opened his mouth multiple times to try to say something, anything to the brunette, but instead closed it because he was sure that Makoto was still angry at him and didn't want to talk. All he wanted was to get on the floor next to his boyfriend, say he was sorry a million times while hugging him tight, and kiss his worries goodbye but Makoto probably didn't want any of that.

  
 _But, he could have just left and he's still here so that's a good sign...right?_ Seijuurou thought.

  
Seijuurou sighed, knowing that he had to fix this. He knew that Makoto liked to eat something while studying, typically something sweet, but he had forgotten to go out and replenish his snacks days ago and it was getting too late to go anywhere...but there was one person that he knew always had some kind of food hidden away. He got out of his bed, Makoto not even looking up at him as Seijuurou walked past him to his door, resting his hand on the doorknob.

  
"I'll be right back, okay?" Seijuurou waited for Makoto to respond, a 'okay' or 'where are you going?' or 'be back soon it's getting late' would have been what he had been hoping for, but instead Makoto had only hummed, still not looking away from his notebook.

  
Frowning, Seijuurou left his room, walking across the hall and knocked on the door, waiting for an answer. Within seconds he heard footsteps and Nitori opened the door, a surprised smile spreading on his face when he saw his captain standing outside of his room.

  
"Seijuurou! Is there something you need?"

  
"I do, yeah." Golden eyes drifted to the bottom bunk in the dorm room, Rin's bed, and Nitori understood. The first year stood aside, allowing Seijuurou to walk in and head straight for the mattress, knealing down and reaching under the metal frame. "I, uh...said something to Makoto I shouldn't have and I don't have any chocolate around aside from peppermints."

  
"I just got more, too...but it's fine, take as much as you need!"

  
"Why do you keep your stuff under Rin's bed again? Why not just in your desk?" Seijuurou felt around, trying to find the bag of chocolate treats.

  
"Because if I kept them in my desk, then I would probably lose them..." Nitori said, scratching the back of his neck and face turning pink from embarassment. "Even though Rin makes sure that I keep it clean and tidy, I would still probably lose them in an instant and wouldn't find them until forever."

  
"When's your birthday again? I'll get you some organizing things or something, you really seem like you need them...here it is-" Seijuurou pulled back, opening the bag in his hands and rummaged through it, trying to find the perfect thing to give to Makoto. He found a box of chocolate cookies, thinking that along with a few spare pieces of chocolate and caramel that it would be perfect. "You have any bags or something?"

  
"I think Rin has some left over from his birthday, he got a few treats in these really cute bags that he put in his bottom drawer, I think."

  
"Awesome." Seijuurou scooted over to the neater of the two desks, pulling open the bottom drawer like Nitori said to try to find the small gift bag. "You're really helping me out a lot here, Nitori."

  
"So is...Makoto mad?"

  
Seijuurou huffed, closing the drawer once he found what he was looking for and thinking of the Iwatobi captain on his floor that wouldn't talk to him. "Yeah, pretty sure."

* * *

  
The brunette sighed, the words he was writing down turning into complete nonsense.

  
Makoto knew that Seijuurou didn't mean to say those things. After all, Seijuurou hadn't known that he wore glasses until mere hours ago, but it still pained Makoto that his boyfriend out of all people would take stabs at his sight and play one-way keep away while doing so. He pushed his glasses back up his nose, recalling the moment and the words that Seijuurou had said. It hurt, to have someone you really like hurt you with words in a tone that the other thought was playful but instead only ended up hurting instead. Putting his pen down and closing the notebook, Makoto rested his head on his crossed arms, staring at the shoes underneath Seijuurou's bed.

  
Seijuurou still hadn't come back from wherever he went, but Makoto still didn't want to talk until the redhead apologized in full. He couldn't have gone too far with it getting darker with every minute, and the panic started to settle in. What if something happened to Seijuurou? It seemed like he was gone for more than fifteen minutes, and he was never gone for that long with everything being so close on campus.

  
 _Maybe he just ran into a classmate or something and they're talking.._. Makoto thought, pushing the panic aside and sighed. _Or maybe he just doesn't want to apologize._

  
Makoto let his eyes flutter shut, taking deep breaths and tried to relax. The door creaked open and Makoto resisted the urge to turn his head and look at Seijuurou, keeping his focus on red and black sneakers. Makoto also heard the crinkle of a plastic bag and something being placed in front of him, near his head, and a large hand run through his hair.

  
"Mako..." Seijuurou's voice was quiet, and Makoto couldn't help but relax at Seijuurou's touch. "Hey...I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to call you blind and say those...other things. Even Nitori thinks I'm an idiot if it makes you feel any better."

  
Turning his head to expect seeing Seijuurou there, his eyes widened when he saw a neatly-presented pile of chocolate treats, in a red bag with a ribbon and all. There was also a small piece of paper taped to the side that had a small drawing of a cat face with Seijuurou's handwriting that said 'forgive me?' with a heart at the end of the phrase. Tilting his head more to the side he saw Seijuurou at his side, legs crossed and smiling at him. Makoto's face heated up, letting Seijuurou pull him up and place his head in his lap, letting out a pleased sigh when Seijuurou started playing with his hair.

  
"Are...you still mad at me?"

  
"...No. Not anymore." Makoto admitted, wrapping his finger around Seijuurou's drawstring to his sweatpants. "But I _was_ really upset."

  
"I know, I just...I never expected you to wear glasses and you look so cute but in the end I just had to act like an idiot and say things that I shouldn't have and hurt you and I never want to do that again."

  
"And I'll have you know that even without my glasses I still know what looks like what." Makoto tugged on the drawstring.

  
"But how well, though?"

  
"Seijuurou, I can see just fine. It's just when I have to read something I typically need them, I told you that. So even with them off, I still can see perfectly fine, and can tell that you're really handsome." Glancing up at Seijuurou, eyes meeting, and Makoto couldn't help but smile. "But...I accept your apology. I know that you never meant to say those things, Seijuurou."

  
"You have no idea how happy that makes me, Makoto." Seijuurou poked Makoto's nose, earning a slight laugh from his boyfriend.

  
"You gonna help me eat this chocolate or...?" Makoto asked, tilting his head towards the gift.

  
"Nope, that's all for you. I forgot to get more snacks so I had to get something from Nitori because I know that food helps you study better."

  
Makoto smiled, hooking his arms around Seijuurou's neck to pull the redhead down and bring him close enough so that their noses were almost touching. "Aside from your 'saying things I shouldn't say' filter needing some work, you're perfect."

  
"No, you're perfect." Seijuurou closed his eyes, bringing their lips together and kissed Makoto, feeling the Iwatobi captain's fingers tangle in the back of his shirt. "You're perfect, and I love you, and you look so cute in glasses, Mako."


	31. Chapter 31

Makoto groaned, not bothering to lift his head from his pillow to find his cellphone that was buzzing next to his bed. He lifted his arm, trial after trial to try to find it and answer to make the vibrating and too-cheerful sounds stop, and whoever was calling him at this hour was definitely going to get an earful from him, coherent or otherwise. Finding success at last and gripping the still-vibrating device, he slid it open and pressed it to his ear.

  
"Who is this-"

  
_"Happy graduation day, sweetheart!"_

  
_Seijuurou, of course..._

  
"Sei, what time is it?"

  
_"Eight o'clock on the dot! Rise and shine c'mon, there's things to do! Things to celebrate!"_

  
Sitting up with a sigh Makoto rubbed at his still-heavy eyes with his spare hand. "You sound extra cheerful."

  
 _"It's a big day for you, Mako! I can't wait to see you today_." A pause. " _Well, you and Haruka."_

  
"You saw everyone days ago at Samezuka, though." Makoto couldn't help but smile.

  
_"I'm just...I don't know, really excited! C'mon, you have to be excited too, babe!"_

  
"Gimmie a few minutes, or an hour, you woke me up." The youngest yawned. "I'll just see you later, okay?"

  
_"Alright, alright, fine! Love you."_

  
"Love you too..." Makoto slid his phone shut, letting it fall on top of his blankets as he nuzzled back into his pillow. "Five more minutes..."

  
What Makoto didn't know, is that Seijuurou was downstairs at the ready, a plate-full of homemade chocolate chip waffles resting on the counter and chatting away with Asako and Tatsuya. Thirty minutes later when Ren and Ran had dragged a half-asleep Makoto to the kitchen, the brunette was more than surprised to have his still-cheerful boyfriend hug him immediately when he came into view.

  
"Were you here the whole time...?" Makoto yawned, sitting himself down in a chair at the kitchen table. "We talked not too long ago, when did-"

  
"He got here early this morning. The darling wanted to make you breakfast." Asako took some things out of the fridge, the syrup and milk, setting them on the counter next to the plate. "He's been waiting for you to come down and finally sent up your siblings to come and get you."

  
"You better eat up, before they get even colder!" Seijuurou nudged Makoto's side, trying to wake him up fully. "Ren and Ran already had their share, and so did your parents and me, so the rest are for you!"

  
"Are you serious?!" Makoto's eyes widened. "There's an entire pile there! I can't possibly eat all of them without getting sick!"

  
"As long as you do eat them, I'll be happy."

  
Makoto sighed, resting his head against the palm of his hand, smiling at his boyfriend. "You."

  
"Me?"

  
"Yeah, you." Grabbing his fork to stick into the waffle at the top of the pile, bringing it to his mouth and instead held it in front of his mouth, using it as a cover, so he could kiss the redhead.

* * *

  
"Is it finally settling in yet?" Seijuurou watched as Makoto was getting ready to meet with Haruka and the others. "Soon you'll be having to pack for college, babe."

  
"Oh, I know." Makoto focused on tying his tie. "Last night it took forever to fall asleep because today's one of the last days that I'll be walking through that school and be around that pool for a long time. I'm just relieved that I got good marks on my finals. But...it is a bit sad, though."

  
"Unless you get convinced to sneak a quick dip in the pool." Seijuurou snorted. "You'll be back sooner than you think, I'm sure of it. Nagisa and Rei would probably love having you back to teach some of the new kids on the team, and maybe if you go it'll mean Haru will show up too. And of course you did great, why wouldn't you?"

  
Makoto hummed in response which turned into a sigh of frustration as his fingers fumbled with the fabric around his neck. Seijuurou got up and stood behind Makoto, gently pushing Makoto's hands away to fix his tie himself.

  
"You know..." Seijuurou finished the neat knot of Makoto's tie and adjusted it, making sure that it looked fine in the mirror's reflection. "You still haven't told me what college you chose yet."  
"...Tonight." The brunette leaned back into Seijuurou and felt large hands rest on his hips. "When we're all together at the pool. I decided that then, I'll tell all of you what I chose. And speaking of decisions, you still haven't told me if you decided to stay in the dorms or get an apartment."

  
The talk of the possible apartment for Seijuurou was brought up twice. The redhead figured that it could be better, getting used to a living arrangement without it being conjoined to his current school or at his parents, but money was an important factor and Seijuurou was, after all, used to dorms by now and wanted a change of pace and to be out on his own seemed like a fantastic option.

  
Seijuurou shrugged, kissing the nape of Makoto's neck. "I'll have to look around some more, but I'm definitely leaning more towards getting my own place."

  
"If you need help, I'll go out looking with you." Makoto twisted himself around to face Seijuurou, smoothing out the wrinkles on Seijuurou's shirt and looking into glittering golden eyes, smiling. "Y'know, get the boyfriend approval and all."

  
"Of course." He chuckled, pressing their foreheads together. "You have better taste than I do when it comes to interior stuff, anyways. So it saves me a call begging you to come with me."

  
"I could just be a jerk and pick out only pink things, say that it fits very well and you wouldn't know any better." Makoto teased.

  
The redhead scoffed. "But pink is a very manly color, Mako!"

  
"If you two keep that up you're going to make Makoto late and make me sick from how cute you two are!" The couple turned their heads to see a grinning Nagisa in the doorway. "Now come on! You can flirt later!"

* * *

  
The ceremony was definitely something that both Haruka and Makoto would remember. Smiles, laughing, tons of pictures, being recognized for their club, and of course, happy tears. It had finally hit both boys that high school was over and the next big step in their lives was closing in.

  
And that they would for once, be miles and miles apart and it would be tough getting used to.

  
However, the two of them pushed the sadness aside for a few hours to go to the pool for the after party and enjoy themselves. It had been quite the turnout, with Nagisa, Rei, and Gou whom did all of the decorations and left the other little details to the new members of the swim club, and Mr. and Mrs. Tachibana being in charge of the snacks with Seijuurou's help (and Ren and Ran who were in charge of decorating the cookies, of course). Even Miss Amakata and Sasabe attended, to show their support for the Iwatobi graduates that were headed off to their respective new schools soon, plus Rin and Nitori. Makoto and Haruka thanked everyone for doing all of this, saying that everything looked fantastic and that they were extremely grateful that they had wonderful friends and family to do this for them, and that it was important.

  
Asako had two mini cakes for Haruka and Rin, handmade with their universities emblems in frosting on top with a plastic dolphin and shark as a cute decoration to top it off. They were grateful, admiring the care that was put in to making them, and said their thanks with big hugs and misting eyes. But there was another cake that fit the three, but was incredibly under-dressed.  
Which then the group turned their attention to Makoto, whose personalized cake was only adorned with a plastic orca and green sprinkles, due to not knowing Makoto's university of choice.

  
"I guess I should tell you all now, huh?" He smiled, his heartbeat quickening. Makoto stood up, Seijuurou's fingers loosely linked with his as it hung at his side. "Well...it took longer than I thought it would to decide. And I'm pretty sure you all know that. I had to think for a...long, long time because I wanted to make sure that I chose the right place for me, a place that felt right and would be perfect. Like you all said I should do."

  
Makoto paused, looking at the crowd of people here, friends and family that have supported him through his life, and then at Seijuurou smiling next to him, and the weight of his ring around his neck seemed heavier. It felt like his heart was almost going to burst.

  
"...So I decided that I'll be going to Kyoto, to go through the teaching program with an almost full scholarship."

  
_Because it feels right._

  
Seijuurou was on his feet in an instant, eyes wide as he pulled Makoto into a hug, the rest of the party members watching the couple embrace with smiles on their own faces. While everyone was distracted, Asako had gotten a tube of green frosting from her purse and snuck over to Makoto's bare cake, writing 'Kyoto' in big, neat letters. Nagisa, Rei, Gou, Nitori, Rin and Haruka came over, attempting to pry Seijuurou off of Makoto so that they could hug their friend and congratulate him as well, but the redhead wouldn't budge. Makoto patted Seijuurou's back, whispering to him ("C'mon, love..."), and it wasn't until Asako and Tatsuya put a hand on Seijuurou's shoulder.

  
"Why don't you go get Makoto some cake, Seijuurou?" Tatsuya suggested once the redhead had finally detached himself.

  
"Ah, right!" Seijuurou rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed. He turned to Makoto, who now had Nagisa clinging to his arm and Rin giving him a pat on the back. "Sorry..."

  
Makoto just smiled at his boyfriend, cheeks pink. "It's fine."

  
The rest of the evening was bustling with activity and conversation, enjoying the atmosphere that the pool gave with the small white lights hanging around the fence and floating lights in the water. The graduates made sure to talk to everyone, discussing how it felt now that high school was over and they would be leaving for college soon. They all felt the same; excited, nervous, the distance from everything being intimidating, but were happy nonetheless. The question of staying in contact was never brought up, knowing fully well that just completely losing all communication wasn't even an option.

  
With the excitement of my boyfriend is going to school with me, Seijuurou knew that Makoto wanted to spend some time with his friends and family and enjoy himself without a very excited redhead clinging to his side. After handing Makoto a slice of his personalized cake and getting something for himself to drink, he stood off to the side, watching Makoto and his friends socialize. He sighed, the rim of the plastic cup between his lips and chewed slightly. Mind unfocused, Seijuurou didn't catch Rin coming towards him from the corner of his eye, and jumped when he nudged his shoulder.

  
"Oi."

  
"Oi yourself, Matsuoka." Seijuurou mumbled into the half-full cup. "Having fun?"

  
"Yeah, didn't expect everything to be this nice." Rin scratched the back of his neck, trying to break the awkward tension. "So...Mako going to Kyoto, huh? Pretty big deal."

  
Seijuurou bit back a wide grin, and he nodded. "Yeah. I knew he was stressed out about deciding on a place to go and I did mention that going to school together would be fun, but I didn't think that he would actually choose there, y'know?"

  
"He didn't tell you as soon as he decided?" Rin looked over and Seijuurou shook his head. "Apparently Haru knew from the moment that he finally picked something because of how happy he looked, especially on the day of finals. But he said that it is a place that he's been to countless times and knows his way around and people already know him, it would take off a bunch of stress on him."

  
"I'm...really happy." Seijuurou was beaming by now, hiding his mouth behind his cup now pointless. "I thought he was going somewhere big, like Tokyo where there's more to be offered, but he chose Kyoto. He picked what he thought was right and that's...really something, isn't it?"

  
Rin clicked his tongue and glanced over at Makoto who was still talking to Amakata and his mother. "Sure is."

  
"...Do you think that he's only going to Kyoto because of me?"

  
"Mikoshiba, if Makoto was going to Kyoto just for you _everyone_ would be over here talking to you about it."

* * *

  
Once everyone had helped clean up and gone home for the evening, Makoto and Seijuurou had stayed behind, promising that they would lock up once they left. With their shoes taken off and pants rolled up, the couple sat side by side with their feet in the water, Seijuurou's hand on top of Makoto's and his thumb making a comforting circle against Makoto's skin.

  
"I can't believe that Nagisa spilt his drink on Rei. I've seen him angry before, but he seemed more flustered than anything." Makoto laughed, staring at the reflection of the half-clouded moon in the pool water. "At least he had some spare clothes in the club room."

  
"I've never heard him yell that loud before, and I thought Rin was bad."

  
"And when they walked in and found Rin and Nitori making out, Nagisa was the one to yell." The graduate gently kicked away one of the floating lights. "And then Nagisa shouting 'so it's okay for you two to be in here but if it's me and Rei it's totally not okay' got some definite head turns as those two walked out as red as your hair."

  
"See, we were smarter than that. We actually went away from where everyone was when we wanted some alone time." The couple laughed, tilting their heads to the side to share a small kiss, smiles still wide on their faces.

  
"Sei?"  
Seijuurou cupped Makoto's cheek, staring into almost saddened green eyes that made his heart almost ache. "Yeah?"

  
"Do you...think I made the right choice with Kyoto?"

  
"Mako, sweetheart..." Seijuurou dipped his hand into the water, flicking the droplets at Makoto who only giggled in protest. "For one, I'm just glad you chose something finally. I'm a bit suspicious because who knows, you could just be going because of me, and that's what I thought, but honestly? Wherever you were to go I would still be at your side to support you, because wherever you go or what you want to do, it's right. Hell, maybe I would even transfer to be with you now that I think about it."

  
"Can I be honest about something else?" Makoto ceased his leg movement in the water and laced his fingers with Seijuurou's. "When you called me, when I was still stressing out? After I told you that you needed to sleep and hung up, I went right back to trying to decide and I...actually didn't realize that I didn't apply to Kyoto at all until that night."

  
"So...you still got accepted, with almost a full ride, even though you applied so late?" Seijuurou blinked.

  
"I chose because I did do research on their programs some more, and I even got sent quite a bit of scholarships to help to pay for things. Plus, like you said, I'm familiar with the area by now, and regardless I'm happy with my decision and I know you are, too. I'm going to become a teacher, with you by my side. And thinking about everything, with all of that stuff and also about my own future, and how things are going to be, it was for the best and I know I didn't choose wrong. So Kyoto it was." Makoto rested his head on Seijuurou's shoulder. "But why did you stay away from me for most of the party, anyways?"

  
"A-ah, well, it was a big night for you and I know that your friends and family are important to you, and I'm sure that you didn't want me clinging to you all night..." Makoto watched as Seijuurou's cheeks turned pink and the brunette couldn't help but smile.

  
"I wouldn't have minded, you know."

  
"So..." Seiijurou squeezed Makoto's hand. "Going to school together? Seeing your lovely face pretty much every day? Am I dreaming?" The redhead yelped when Makoto pinched his skin. "Nope, guess I'm not dreaming."

  
"I know, but it really does feel like it, huh?"

  
"Yeah..." Seijuurou rested his head on top of Makoto's, looking out to the last flickering lights floating in the pool. "Good thing I have you in my dreams and in real life."

* * *

  
"Makoto, what time did you say that Seijuurou was coming by to help you pack?" Asako asked, checking the clock.

  
"A bit past eleven but then we're going out to run some errands to get some things for his apartment, why?" Makoto set out his suitcases that he needed, unzipping them and trying to decide what he would start packing first.

  
"It _is_ past eleven, dear."

  
The brunette frowned, reaching for his phone to check to see if Seijuurou had sent any messages to him regarding if he was running late. When there was nothing new, Makoto sighed and made a quick message to the redhead asking if he was on his way. Seijuurou had made the habit to see his parents and sister two weekends out of the month, and then would also see Makoto while he was closer.

  
"I'm sure everything is going to be fine-" Asako was cut off when there was a knock that came from the front door downstairs, and she smiled. "See? That's probably him."

  
Makoto's mother left the room to answer the door, leaving her son to continue getting things ready to be sorted and packed. He laughed once he heard Ren and Ran's excited voices echo, and the familiar voice that belonged to no one other than Seijuurou. He made out Seijuurou's muffled promise to play with the twins later, and the heavy footsteps coming closer to his room. Makoto got on his knees to find something under his bed, and smiled when he heard Seijuurou whistle upon seeing his boyfriend with his legs spread and ass in the air.

  
"Nice view." Seijuurou said, leaning in the doorway with his arms crossed and grin on his face. Makoto dragged a spare bag out and stood back up, smoothing out his shirt. "Sorry, I got your message when I was right around the corner. Tama wanted to be scratched so I got a bit...distracted."

  
"It's fine, we're not packing everything today anyways so we don't have to spend a lot of time here, and we'll have more time in town to get things you need for your new place."

  
"Ah, about that..." Seijuurou sat down on Makoto's bed, patting the space next to him for Makoto to sit down. Makoto did so, Seijuurou taking his hand and sighing. "So, I have something I want to ask you, babe."

  
"Yeah? Is it about where you want to go today?"

  
"I just...wanted to ask...since y'know, while we're out we have to stop by the apartment to sign some stuff and get the key and all..." Seijuurou rubbed his neck. "And well, my stuff's packed and ready to go and you're packing and we'll be out to look at furniture and kitchen stuff and other stuff and since you're going to be going to the same school and the apartment's only a short train ride from campus, I figured well, why not?"

  
"Sei-"

  
"You've seen it and even you said it was nice, and well, without a roommate everything would be twice as lonely even with you being literally in the same city, and everyone I asked about it said that it would be a good idea and said I was dumb for questioning it. And besides, you are helping me pick out everything..."

  
"Are you asking-" Makoto was cut off by Seijuurou placing his hands on Makoto's cheeks, staring at Makoto with the most sincere look but filled with determination and shy happiness.

  
"Do you wanna...move in with me?"

  
Seijuurou saw Makoto's smile spread into a grin, green eyes widening in excitement. In an instant Makoto wrapped his arms around Seijuurou's neck and kissed the redhead, heart beating wildly against his chest.

  
"Of course I do."

  
Seijuurou sighed in relief. "I was hoping that you would say yes because there was the chance that you would say no. I already mentioned it to your parents and mine and the landlord, and hopefully it isn't too late to inform the school that you'll be living off-campus and you can get some of your money back from that." Seijuurou nuzzled Makoto's neck, smiling against lightly tanned skin. "And forget the suitcases, you'll be needing more than those. I have some spare boxes we can pick up later."

  
"Mmm, Seijuurou?" Makoto mumbled, running his fingers through Seijuurou's hair.

  
"Yes, Makoto?"

  
"Do you know how long I'll love you?"

  
"Hmmm..." Seijuurou rubbed their noses together. "Is...it always?"

  
Makoto smiled and brought their lips together, kissing his boyfriend and feeling his ring press against Seijuurou's though his shirt.

  
"Definitely always, for as long as I live."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And finally after a long time of finishing putting this off here (and it being AGES since it's been actually finished), it's done!   
> But then I just have to worry about the sequel-moving too, ah...  
> (and this was definitely one of those things that you look back on after it being done, and Eternal Summer being out that puts a few holes in a few things and thinking it could've been done a LOT better but that's just how writing works, I guess!)

**Author's Note:**

> Ah, hello wonderful people of Ao3! Ages ago, I posted this on ffnet, and figured "Why not?" when it came to posting it here along with my other stuff! So some of you may have already read this and if you have, I thank you, and if you haven't, hello again and I hope you enjoy this~  
> (also I'm still trying to figure out this website so bear with me if I get things like tags and such incorrect!)


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